Oliviu Gherman (26 April 1930–11 August 2020) was a Romanian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, university professor, and diplomat. Born in 1930 in Sânmihaiu de Sus village,

Turda County Turda County was a county (Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, as successor to Torda-Aranyos County in Austria-Hungary. Its capital was Turda. Geography Turda County covered and was located in central western part of Greater Romania, ...

(now part of

Mihai Viteazu Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570 ...

commune,

Cluj County Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...

), he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cluj in 1952. For his graduate studies, he went to the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, where he obtained his PhD in 1957, with thesis written under the direction of

Șerban Țițeica Șerban Țițeica ( – May 28, 1985) was a Romanian quantum physicist. He is regarded as the founder of the Romanian school of theoretical physics. The third and last child of mathematician Gheorghe Țițeica, he was born in Bucharest, where he ...

. Gherman then started his academic career at the University of Cluj, becoming dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in 1965. From 1958 to 1960 he worked at the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

(IAEA) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1966 he moved to the

University of Craiova The University of Craiova ( ro, Universitatea din Craiova) is a public university located in Craiova, Romania. It was founded in 1947, initially with four institutes, in the Palace of Justice of Craiova. It is the largest university in the histori ...

, where he served as department chair, dean, and

prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic rank ...

. In the 1970s he was a researcher, and from 1973 a senior researcher at the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Education ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. He kept his faculty position in Craiova until 1998. 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 ...

of 1989, Gherman started on a political career. He served as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the 1990–1992, 1992–1996, 1996–2000, and 2000–2004 legislatures. He was first elected in

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, the cou ...

on the lists of the FSN party, then elected senator in the electoral constituency No. 41 of

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 ...

. During his parliamentary activity, Oliviu Gherman was member of the following parliamentary friendship groups: * in the 1990–1992 legislature: the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; * in the 1996–2000 legislature:

Republic of Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...

and

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

; * in the 2000–2004 legislature: India and

. In the legislature 1996–2000, Gherman was a member of the commission for privatization and administration of state assets (since September 1999), the commission for culture, art and mass media (since December 1996) and the Committee on Labor, Family and Social Protection (until September 1999). Gherman was the president of the FDSN party (later PDSR), during 1992–1996. In 1995, Gherman was conferred a

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

degree by the

Moldova State University The Moldova State University (Romanian: ''Universitatea de Stat din Moldova'') is a university located in Chișinău, Moldova. History The university was founded on 1 October 1946. Initially, it had 320 students enrolled in 5 faculties, Physi ...

. Gherman resigned from the Senate on 27 August 2001 and was replaced by . Gherman was a F.S.N. senator. (1990–1992), F.D.S.N. (1992–1996), P.D.S.R. (1996–2000, 2000–2004), president of the F.D.S.N. (1992–1996), and

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

(1992–1996). From 2001 to 2004, Gherman was ambassador of Romania to France. He died on 11 August 2020 at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gherman, Oliviu 1930 births 2020 deaths People from Cluj County Babeș-Bolyai University alumni University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of Babeș-Bolyai University Romanian physicists Presidents of the Senate of Romania Members of the Senate of Romania Ambassadors of Romania to France