Andrei Oțetea (–March 21, 1977) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-born

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n historian. Born in Sibiel, a village in the

Mărginimea Sibiului Mărginimea Sibiului () is an area which comprises 18 Romanian localities in the south-western part of Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, all of them having a unique ethnological, cultural, architectural, and historical heritage. Position T ...

region, Oțetea attended the local

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

school before entering the Hungarian State High School in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

. His pro-Romanian stance caused problems with a history teacher, leading him to transfer to Andrei Șaguna High School in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

. His classmates included

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...

, Nicolae Colan and Dumitru D. Roșca.Irimie, p. 9 In autumn 1919, after the

union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

, Oțetea and Roșca were among a group of young men sent by

ASTRA Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

to study in France. Within days, they met a group from

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

, including Mihai Ralea, becoming lifelong friends. Oțetea studied Italian and French at the Sorbonne, also attending

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

. His professors included André Siegfried, Henri Hauvette,

Henri Hauser Henri Hauser (19 July 1866 – 27 May 1946) was a French historian, geographer, and economist. A pioneer in the study of the economic history of the early modern period, he also wrote on contemporary economic issues and held the first chair in e ...

and

Charles Diehl Charles Diehl (; 19 January 1859 – 1 November 1944) was a French historian born in Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history. Biography He received his education at the École Normale Supérieure, and later taught c ...

. He wrote two doctorates on

Francesco Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and politician, statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his maste ...

, in 1926 (in French) and 1927 (in Italian).Irimie, p. 12 After returning to Romania in 1927, Oțetea was named to the department of modern and contemporary world history at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

, eventually rising to full professor. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the university administration. Between 1939 and 1947, he intermittently headed the

Iași National Theatre The Iași National Theatre (or Vasile Alecsandri National Theater; in Romanian: Teatrul Național Vasile Alecsandri) in Iași, Romania, is the oldest national theatre and one of the most prestigious theatrical institutions in Romania. In 1956, i ...

. In 1947, shortly before the onset of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, he became professor of world history and assistant rector at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

.Irimie, p. 13 His students included Florin Constantiniu,

Șerban Papacostea Șerban is a common name in Romania. It may be phonetically transcribed as Sherban or written without diacritics as Serban. It is also used by the Aromanians. Persons named Șerban include: Surname * Alina Șerban, Roma actress and writer * Andre ...

and Dan Berindei.Irimie, p. 14 In 1947–1948, and again from 1956 to 1970, Oțetea headed the Nicolae Iorga History Institute, where he was responsible for the publication of specialized works. He was elected a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in 1955.Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent
at the Romanian Academy site Oțetea died in Paris in March 1977; he was buried in Sibiel a week later.Irimie, p. 15

Notes

References

*Radu Irimie
''Fondul documentar Andrei Oțetea''
Sibiu: Editura Armanis, 2015, ISBN 978-606-8595-39-9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Otetea, Andrei 1894 births 1977 deaths People from Săliște Romanian Austro-Hungarians Andrei Șaguna National College (Brașov) alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Academic staff of the University of Bucharest 20th-century Romanian historians Romanian theatre managers and producers Titular members of the Romanian Academy