Vasile Noveanu (1904–1992) 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 activist of 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 ...

. A childhood friend of Guard founder

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 ...

and participant in 1922 anti-Semitic student riots,

Z. Ornea Zigu Ornea (; born Zigu Orenstein Andrei Vasilescu"La ceas aniversar – Cornel Popa la 75 de ani: 'Am refuzat numeroase demnități pentru a rămâne credincios logicii și filosofiei analitice.' ", in Revista de Filosofie Analitică', Vol. II, N ...

, ''Anii treizeci: extrema dreaptă românească'', pp. 257–58. Bucharest: Editura Polirom, 2015. he later served as leader of the Arad organization. As a means of rescuing the Guard, he became keen on reconciling the suppressed movement with the dictatorial

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

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 ...

after the latter ordered Codreanu's assassination in late 1938. By early 1940, he had emerged as domestic leader of the Guard (another faction, under

Horia Sima Horia Sima (3 July 1906 – 25 May 1993) was a Romanian fascist politician, best known as the second and last leader of the fascist paramilitary movement known as the Iron Guard (also known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael). Sima was ...

, had fled to Berlin).Rebecca Haynes, ''Romanian Policy Towards Germany, 1936–40'', p. 131. New York:

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, 2000. At the time, the king had decided to reconcile with the Guard, and ordered his ministers Mihail Ghelmegeanu and

Ernest Urdăreanu Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

to arrange a meeting between Noveanu and a group of released Guardist prisoners. The most prominent of the movement's domestic members, Noveanu included, accepted the king's offer and signed a letter, published in the press, that pledged allegiance to him. On April 26, 1940, King Carol issued an amnesty for the Guard, and on July 4, the cabinet of

Ion Gigurtu Ion Gigurtu (; 24 June 1886 – 24 November 1959) was a far-right Romanian politician, Land Forces officer, engineer and industrialist who served a brief term as Prime Minister from 4 July to 4 September 1940, under the personal regime of King Car ...

was sworn in with three Guardist members, including Noveanu as Minister of Public Wealth Inventory. Together with his colleagues, Radu Budișteanu and , he constituted the "Carlist group" of Guardists. He remained in office until September 4, when the cabinet fell.Stelian Neagoe, ''Istoria guvernelor României'', p. 135. Bucharest: Editura Machiavelli, 1999. Two days later, Sima removed him from the Guard leadership. From March to September 1945, after the installation of a

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, he was placed under arrest. After being freed, he became an informer to the ''

Siguranța Siguranța was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety ( ro, Di ...

'' secret police. Together with ,

Petre P. Panaitescu Petre P. Panaitescu (March 11, 1900 – November 14, 1967) was a Romanian literary historian. A native of Iași, he spent most of his adult life in the national capital Bucharest, where he rose to become a professor at its main university. A ...

, and Liviu Stan, he was one of several ex-Guardists who dealt with the authorities in order to lessen political tensions with their group. Under the

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 was kept under permanent surveillance by the ''

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...

'' and arrested in 1964. Sentenced to four and a half years in prison, he was freed in January 1969. According to some sources, he was also incarcerated before 1964, and was reportedly present at Aiud Prison, at lead mines and in forced residence on the Bărăgan Plain.
"Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar N"
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noveanu, Vasile 1904 births 1992 deaths Members of the Iron Guard 20th-century Romanian politicians Members of the Romanian Cabinet People detained by the Securitate Romanian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Romania Inmates of Aiud prison