Pavel Țugui (1 November 1921 – 20 September 2021) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n communist activist and literary historian. Born in

Vicovu de Jos Vicovu de Jos (german: Unter Wikow) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Vicovu de Jos. Notable residents * Cristinel Gafița Cristinel Gafiţa (born 14 June 1987) is a Romanian forme ...

Rădăuți County Rădăuți County was one of the historic counties of Bukovina, Romania. The county seat was Rădăuți. History Following the Union of Bukovina with Romania decided by the General Congress of Bukovina on 15/28 November 191, the Rădăuți Count ...

(now part of

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

), he graduated from high school in

Cernăuți Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

, after which he became a teacher. In 1943–1944 he attended military school, and in the fall of 1944 he fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n front. Initially a member of the

Ploughmen's Front The Ploughmen's Front ( ro, Frontul Plugarilor) was a Romanian left-wing agrarian-inspired political organisation of ploughmen, founded at Deva in 1933 and led by Petru Groza. At its peak in 1946, the Front had over 1 million members. Histor ...

, Țugui joined in July 1945 the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...

(PCR; later PMR). In 1945 he enrolled in the Law School of the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...

, but quit after one semester, and in 1947 went to study at the

Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy The Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy (Romanian: ''Academia Ștefan Gheorghiu'', in full: ''Academia de învăţămînt social-politic Ștefan Gheorghiu de pe lîngă CC al PCR'' - approx. ''Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy for Socio-Political Education in Rel ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. Working in the agitation and propaganda section of the Central Committee of the PMR, he advanced between 1955 and 1960 from instructor to head of the literature and arts section to division chief. In the latter capacity, he met many of the writers, artists and scientists of the day, as his office lay at the intersection between the cultural and arts sphere on the one hand and the party leadership on the other. From 1953 to 1955 he was deputy to the

Culture Minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

, then

Constanța Crăciun Constanța Crăciun (16 February 1914 – 2 May 2002) was a Romanian politician and educator. Biography She was born in Constanța. She studied literature and philosophy. She became a member of the Romanian Communist Party in 1935. She was ...

. Elected an alternate member of the Central Committee at the 7th Party Congress in December 1955, after 1960 he stopped holding important positions in the party or the state. Țugui also worked as a university professor and literary historian. He had a good knowledge of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

, and wrote several books about the region. He published his memoirs in 1999. In June 2021, he was awarded the ''Eminescu the Journalist'' Prize by the . Țugui died in September 2021, at the age of 99.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tugui, Pavel 1921 births 2021 deaths People from Suceava County Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian academics Romanian communists Romanian propagandists