Viorel Oancea (born 8 December 1944 in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian, it is known ...

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 ...

) is a retired

n politician and a retired

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Romanian Armed Forces The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is managed ...

. He was advanced in rank by

Presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

issued by former President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservatism, conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions ...

on 21 October 2010.

Romanian Revolution of 1989

Viorel Oancea was the first Army officer to take a stance against the Communist regime during the Romanian Revolution on 22 December 1989. This act led to his imprisonment under General

Ștefan Gușă Ștefan Gușă or Gușe (17 April 1940 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian general who was the Chief of the General Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian ...

In 1992, he was awarded the PL Foundation Freedom Award, shared with

Radu Filipescu Radu Filipescu (born December 26, 1955cpcadcr.presidency.ro/upload/Radu_Filipescu.pdf) is a former Romanian Romanian anti-communist resistance movement, anti-Communist dissident. Radu Filipescu's maternal uncle, Victor Groza, is the brother of Pe ...

for his fight against the Romanian regime led by

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

and his human rights advocacy.

Political career

Viorel Oancea was the first freely elected Mayor of Timișoara, an office he held from 1992 to 1996. In 1997, he became General Secretary of Ministry of Interior, a position he held until 1998. He then returned to Timisoara, to take up the position of Local Councillor until 2004. Running for state office, in 2004 he was elected Deputy at the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, a role he held until 2008. His last political appointment before retiring from public office was Romanian Secretary of State (2009–2012), representing Romania's defense interests on the NATO Council.

References

Living people 1944 births People from Brașov Mayors of Timișoara {{Romania-mayor-stub