Petre Andrei (June 29, 1891 – October 4, 1940) 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 sociologist, philosopher and politician.
Biography
Origins and work
Born in
Brăila
Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...
into a family of low-ranking civil servants, Andrei attended
Nicolae Bălcescu High School from 1902 to 1910. He then moved to
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, where he enrolled in the literature and philosophy faculty of
Iași University
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 Mi ...
, graduating in 1913. While a student, his mentor was
Ion Petrovici
Ion (Ioan) Petrovici (June 14, 1882 – February 17, 1972) was a Romanian professor of philosophy at the University of Iași and titular member of the Romanian Academy. He served as Minister of National Education in the Goga cabinet and Ministe ...
.
He continued his education in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, where he audited a seminar on logic and history of philosophy, and in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
.
Returning home when the war broke out, he volunteered for service, in spite of being exempt due to the fact that his father was deceased. He was assigned to an infantry regiment in March 1915, and from July to September 1916, during which time Romania entered the war, he attended the reserve officers' school in
Târgoviște
Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River.
Târgoviște was one of the ...
. He was sent to another regiment, effective November, and distinguished himself in the battles at
Oituz
Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; hu, Gorzafalva) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poi ...
,
Slănic
Slănic () is one of the 12 towns of Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania, historically and currently known as a salt extraction center, as well as a spa town, with salt lakes. Two villages, Groșani and Prăjani, are administered by the town.
E ...
and the
Cașin valley. For his acts of bravery, he was awarded the
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
, the
Order of the Crown and War Cross with Bars.
In 1918, he defended his thesis, ''Filosofia valorii'', at Iași, receiving the title of doctor in philosophy. Initially a high school teacher, he was on the faculty of several Iași institutions: the
National College, the Military High School and the Orthodox High School for Girls. He was then a substitute professor of history of philosophy in the sociology department of Iași University, becoming a full professor in 1922.
The appointment to this post, left vacant upon the departure of
Dimitrie Gusti
Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister of ...
, prompted a fierce battle within the faculty that drew the attention of the contemporary press. One wing, led by
Ion Găvănescul
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
, pushed for Garabet Aslan; another, which Petrovici headed, wanted Andrei. The latter faction was joined by
Garabet Ibrăileanu
Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenians in Romania, Armenian Literary criticism, literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, University of Iași professor ...
when Petrovici promised to support
Mihai Ralea
Mihai Dumitru Ralea (also known as Mihail Ralea, Michel Raléa, or Mihai Rale;Straje, p. 586 May 1, 1896 – August 17, 1964) was a Romanian social scientist, cultural journalist, and political figure. He debuted as an affiliate of Poporanism, th ...
's appointment after the latter's return from France; and by the new dean,
Traian Bratu
Traian Bratu (October 25, 1875 – July 21, 1940) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian scholar of German language and German literature, literature. A native of the Mărginimea Sibiului region in present-day Sibiu County, southe ...
, a bitter adversary of Găvănescul and his ally
Oreste Tafrali.
From 1927 to 1930, Andrei headed the local magazine ''Minerva'', dedicated to cultural synthesis. His sociological ideas, which Andrei promoted both within and outside the department, are encapsulated in a series of studies and articles, among them: ''Sociologia revoluției'', 1921; ''Problema fericirii''; ''Fundamentul etic sociologic'', 1921: ''Fascismul'', 1927; ''Probleme de metode în sociologie'', 1927; ''Probleme de sociologie'', 1927; ''Sociologie generală'', 1936; ''Manual de sociologie'', 1938.
He was among those professors who opposed the university's politicization. In 1924, as a member of the faculty senate, he condemned not only
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion ...
's assassination of
Constantin Manciu, but also
A. C. Cuza
Alexandru C. Cuza (8 November 1857 – 3 November 1947), also known as A. C. Cuza, was a Romanian far-right politician and economist.
Early life
Born in Iași, Cuza attended secondary school in his native city and in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, ...
for using his department to spread nationalist ideas, calling him the "true moral assassin".
Politics
Attracted by its promise of deepening bourgeois democracy, Andrei joined the new
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...
(PNȚ) in 1928, becoming president of its
Vaslui County
Vaslui County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km².
* Romanians - over 98%
* Rom ...
chapter. He sat in the
Assembly of Deputies while the PNȚ was in power from 1929 to 1933, making frequent speeches before the body. He spoke memorably of the role of parliament in the nation's political life, and worked to pass modern legislation, particularly in the fields of education and administration. In particular, he pushed for a law late in 1929 that brought about administrative decentralization, commenting that it would allow for a genuine exercise of national sovereignty.
He was undersecretary of state at the
Agriculture and Domains Department (1930) and the
Public Instruction, Religious Affairs and Arts Ministry (1932–1933).
Andrei was conflicted when King
Carol II
Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
established an authoritarian
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...
(FRN) regime in 1938. On the one hand, his character and civic impulses recoiled at the idea of dictatorship; nevertheless, he joined forces with what he saw as the only viable means of preserving domestic order, maintaining the country's traditional pro-French foreign policy and crushing the
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...
. Andrei's hesitation can be seen in the diary he kept, where he opines that the law and not political assassination, which he utterly rejected, should decide serious national questions. Under the FRN regime cabinets of
Miron Cristea
Miron Cristea (; monastic name of Elie Cristea ; 20 July 1868 – 6 March 1939) was a Romanian cleric and politician.
A bishop in Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, Cristea was elected Metropolitan-Primate of the Orthodox Church of the newly unifie ...
,
Armand Călinescu
Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th Prime Minister from March 1939 until his assassination six months later. He was a staunch opponent of the fascist Iron Guard and m ...
,
Gheorghe Argeșanu,
Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu ( – 6 February 1955) was a Romanian politician, one of the best-known personalities of interwar Greater Romania, who served as the Prime Minister between 28 September and 23 November 1939. His memoirs, ''Memorii. Pentru ...
and
Gheorghe Tătărescu
: ''For the artist, see Gheorghe Tattarescu.''
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (also known as ''Guță Tătărescu'', with a slightly antiquated pet form of his given name; 2 November 1886 – 28 March 1957) was a Romanian politician who served twice as P ...
, he served as Education Minister from December 1938 to July 1940.
His term witnessed the adoption of a law on the organization of professional, lower and middle education; and one on industrial boys' education. In addition, the foundations were laid for a law on higher education.
On June 26, 1940, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
issued an ultimatum, demanding that Romania cede
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
. During the Crown Council deliberations the next day, Andrei first voted to reject the ultimatum, but on the second, decisive ballot, he voted with the majority to accept it. The subsequent
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
The Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took place from June 28 to July 3, 1940, as a result of an ultimatum by the Soviet Union to Romania on June 26, 1940, that threatened the use of force. Bessarabia had been part of the Ki ...
sent Romania into a deep political crisis.
[, “Problema opțiunilor României în iunie 1940 reflectată în memorialistica unor mari actori ai evenimentelor”, in ''Memoriile Secției de Științe Istorice și Arheologice'', series IV, vol. XVIII/1993, pp. 74-75]
Downfall and legacy
Carol's abdication and the establishment of a
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led by ...
in September 1940 had dramatic consequences for Andrei. The incoming Education Minister,
Traian Brăileanu, ordered his dismissal from higher education, while the new dictator
Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II.
A Romanian Army career officer who made ...
had him put under investigation. In early October, after Iron Guard members searched his home and due to be arrested, he committed suicide,
swallowing
potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline salt, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications includ ...
. His political testament is contained in two letters: one to his wife, the other to his four sons.
[ Doru Tompea]
"Petre Andrei: consecințele tragice ale unor concepții și atitudini totalitare"
in ''Sfera Politicii'', nr. 160/2011 He is buried at
Eternitatea Cemetery
Eternitatea is the biggest cemetery in Iași, Romania.
Notable interments
* Vasile Adamachi, philanthropist
* Petre Andrei, sociologist and politician
* Dimitrie Anghel, poet and writer
* Alexandru Bădărău, politician, academic, and journa ...
in
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
.
After World War II, the authorities of the new
communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
arrested his son Petru for having taken part in student anti-communist demonstrations; he was imprisoned from 1949 to 1952. Initially banned, the work of Petre Andrei was censored, with all passages referring to communist concepts, doctrine and practice excised, even from an authoritative edition published in the 1970s.
Nevertheless, a rehabilitation of sorts began in 1970, when one of his most famous books, ''Sociologie generală'', appeared at
Editura Academiei
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
in 1970. A further four volumes, under the heading ''Opere sociologice'', came out between 1973 and 1983. In 1974, a treatise on sociological thought relegated Andrei to a "departmental sociologist", prompting a vigorous response from his son. Later in the decade and into the 1980s, Ovidiu Bădina and
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 ...
ideologue
Ștefan Voicu engaged in a polemic on the value of Andrei's work.
This could only be appreciated in full after the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...
, when Petru Andrei made it his mission to preserve and publish his father's writings.
In 1990, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the private
Petre Andrei University of Iași was founded.
[History]
at the Petre Andrei University of Iași site In January 1991, he was elected a titular post-mortem member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
.
[ Ciprian Teodorescu]
''Academicieni ieșeni''
pp. 9–10, at the Gheorghe Asachi Iași County library site His diary was published at Iași in 1993.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrei, Petre
1891 births
1940 suicides
People from Brăila
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University faculty
Romanian military personnel of World War I
Romanian sociologists
Romanian magazine editors
Romanian textbook writers
Romanian schoolteachers
National Peasants' Party politicians
National Renaissance Front politicians
20th-century Romanian politicians
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Romanian Ministers of Education
Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania
Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
Drug-related suicides in Romania
Suicides by cyanide poisoning
Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously
20th-century Romanian philosophers
Burials at Eternitatea cemetery