![Petre N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Petre_N._F._Bejan_1937.JPG)
Petre Bejan (January 2, 1896–September 6, 1978) 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 engineer and politician.
Biography
Background and early career
Born in
Ploiești
Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest.
The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...
,
Bejan was descended from a family of educators from
Monor
Monor is a town in Pest county, Hungary. It is situated immediately southeast of Üllő municipality and Ferenc Liszt International Airport - southeast of Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It ...
village in
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 ...
’s
Bistrița-Năsăud County
Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German language, German as ''Kreis Bistritz-N ...
. His father Nicolae Francisc, harassed by the
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
authorities, left for the
Romanian Old Kingdom
The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...
, settling as a German teacher in Ploiești in 1892. The following year, he married Elena Drăgulinescu, a teacher from
Vălenii de Munte
Vălenii de Munte () is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania (the historical region of Muntenia), with a population of 11,707 as of 2011. It lies In the Teleajen river valley, north of the county seat of Ploiești.
The town's sister cities ...
, naming their son after his political role model
Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...
. He died in 1901 at age 38, while in front of his class.
Petre attended
Saints Peter and Paul High School. He then enrolled in the
National School of Bridges and Highways, taking an engineering degree in 1920. He worked in
the local oil industry in various white-collar jobs: head of works at Societatea Columbia, director at Societatea Forage Le Moine, president of the board at Creditul Carbonifer.
[Stan Stoica, ''Dicționar biografic de istorie a României'', pp. 173-174. Bucharest: Editura Meronia, 2008, ]
Political life in the Romanian Kingdom
A member of the
National Liberal Party (PNL), he first won a seat in the
Romanian Chamber of Deputies
); – Committee for Industries and Services ( ro, Comisia pentru industrii și servicii); – Committee for Transport and Infrastructure ( ro, Comisia pentru transporturi și infrastructură); – Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Food Indu ...
in 1933. Bejan then held various posts in the cabinets of
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 ...
: undersecretary of state for armament at the
National Defence Ministry (May 1935-February 1937), undersecretary of state in the prime minister’s office. In 1945-1946, he headed the
Prahova County
Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mos ...
chapter of the
National Liberal Party–Tătărescu
The National Liberal Party–Tătărescu ( ro, Partidul Național Liberal-Tătărescu, PNL-Tătărescu) was a liberal and social liberal political party in the Kingdom of Romania and then in the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was established as ...
(PNL-T). He served as Minister of Industry and Commerce from March 1945 to November 1946, in 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 ...
-dominated government of
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
.
In advance of the
1946 election, he campaigned alongside Communist leaders
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world's first female foreign minister whe ...
and
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ( ...
. At one
Bloc of Democratic Parties rally, he praised the latter as “the great fighter for our workers and the aspirations of our nation”, while urging voters to admire the former’s “modesty, her love for the people and country, which vibrates in every word she speaks”. Meanwhile, he harshly attacked the
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 ...
and the
Dinu Brătianu
Dinu Brătianu (January 13, 1866 – May 20, 1950), born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian engineer and politician who led the National Liberal Party (PNL) starting in 1934.
Life Early career
Born at the estate of ''Florica'', in ...
wing of the PNL, accusing them of harboring figures “totally responsible for our national disaster”. Moreover, he asked Tătărescu to impose upon the PNL-T a policy of loyalty towards the communists.
By the summer and autumn of 1947, Bejan was leading the pro-communist wing of the PNL-T, not out of doctrinal affinity, but from political opportunism.
[Țurlea, p. 260] A more charitable interpretation holds that he was trying to keep his party afloat at all costs, hoping that a change in the domestic, but especially the international situation, would return Romania to a democratic path. In early November, the liberal ministers resigned from the government and Bejan took over the party from Tătărescu. He unveiled a platform that shocked some members: while not preaching class struggle, his faction embraced a “liberal-socialist” vision that accepted the end of capitalism, although calling for individual private property to be safeguarded.
[Gheorghe Onișoru, ''România în anii 1944-1948: transformări economice și realități sociale'', p. 67. Bucharest: Editura Fundația Academia Civică, 1998, ]
Aftermath under communism
In February 1948, after the establishment of a
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 ...
, he decided to hold a party congress, preemptively expelling several members who failed to adhere to the new line. The congress was delayed later that month; meanwhile, he decided to participate in the
March election for a constituent assembly. The communists allowed what was now the PNL-Bejan to win seven seats; Bejan declared his satisfaction. The assembly’s first order of business was to adopt
a new constitution on
the Stalinist model; Bejan rose to praise and declare his full support for the charter, with all PNL-B deputies voting in favor. In June, he voted for the
nationalization of industry.
In spite of his collaboration with the new authorities, in 1950 he was arrested for his role inside the PNL.
Groza pushed for the arrest, arguing that as long as he remained free, Bejan could inspire followers. In theory, as a member of the
Great National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to:
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania
* Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...
, he enjoyed
legislative immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, s ...
. In 1951, he was sent to a penal colony for two years. His term was then increased on account of his “intense activity against the working class”. Freed from
Sighet prison
The Sighet prison, located in the city of Sighetu Marmației, Maramureș County, Romania, was used by Romania to hold criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners. It is now the site of the Sighet Memorial Museum, part of the Memorial ...
in July 1955, he was forced to live for five years in internal exile on the
Bărăgan Plain
The Bărăgan Plain ( ro, Câmpia Bărăganului ) is a steppe plain in south-eastern Romania. It makes up much of the eastern part of the Wallachian Plain. The region is known for its black soil and a rich humus, and is mostly a cereal-growing are ...
in
Măzǎreni,
Brăila County
Brăila County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Brăila.
Demographics
In 2011, Brăila had a population of 304,925 and the population density was 64/km2.
* Romanians – 98%
* Romani, Russians, Lipo ...
. After this term expired in 1960, he was sent to work as an engineer at the collective farm in
Butimanu
Butimanu is a commune in Dâmbovița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Bărbuceanu, Butimanu, Lucianca and Ungureni. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia.
Natives
* Constantin Prezan (1861–1943); a gene ...
,
Dâmbovița County
Dâmbovița County (also spelt ''Dîmbovița'', ) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county.
It has an area of ...
.
He had two sons, Marius and Romulus.
[Echim, p. 344]
Notes
References
* I. T. Echim
“Fruntașa familie Bejan din Monor” in ''Arhiva Someșană'', pp. 326-44, nr. 21 (1937)
*Petre Țurlea, ''Partidul Național Liberal Tătărescu''. Bucharest: Editura Libra, 2001,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bejan, Petre
1896 births
1978 deaths
People from Ploiești
Politehnica University of Bucharest alumni
Romanian engineers
Romanian businesspeople in the oil industry
National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Members of the Great National Assembly
Romanian Ministers of Industry and Commerce
Inmates of Sighet prison
Romanian prisoners and detainees