Emil Hațieganu (December 9, 1878—May 13, 1959) was a

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 politician and jurist, a prominent member of the

Romanian National Party The Romanian National Party (, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Tran ...

(PNR) and of its successor, the

National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...

(PNȚ); he was physician Iuliu Hațieganu's brother. Before his arrest, he was an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. He was born in Tritenii de Jos,

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(inside the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Austria-Hungary 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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

at the time, now in

Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...

, Romania), the son of , a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

priest. He attended gymnasium and high school in Blaj and

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, and then studied Law at Franz Joseph University in Cluj, graduating in 1901. Afterwards, he practiced Law and was a judge in Huedin, Ileanda, and Cluj. Hațieganu later became a professor at the University of Cluj, and served as its rector in 1929–1930. Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the Aster Revolution in Hungary, he was present with PNR leaders at the

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

assembly that called for 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 ...

, and served on the Directory Council designated by the participants. A Minister of Labour and Social Security in the Iuliu Maniu cabinets in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, he was kept in the Gheorghe Mironescu government (that brought about the return of

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...

King of Romania The King of Romania () or King of the Romanians () was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication. ...

). Hațieganu also held the office of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Transylvania. In 1940, he became noted for his vocal protest against the cession of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(the signing of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

). Retreated from political life during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he returned to the forefront of illegal opposition before the fall of the

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

pro-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

dictatorship (''see

Romania during World War II The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II of Romania, King Carol II, initially maintained Neutral country, neutrality in World War II. However, fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popularity and power, urgi ...

''). After the start of

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

military occupation in Romania, Hațieganu held the position of PNȚ

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in the first

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

-dominated cabinet; his appointment, like that of the National Liberal , followed pressures on Groza to open executive structures to politicians from outside the Communist-led National Democratic Front alliance — both mandates were ended by the 1946 general election. In front of mounting Communist influence, Hațieganu approached Iuliu Maniu with a proposal to establish direct contacts with the

Western Allies Western Allies was a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It primarily refers to the leading Anglo-American Allied powers, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, although the term has also be ...

by having

Ion Mihalache Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian Agrarianism, agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (Romania), Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party ( ...

evade the country (July 1947); the attempt, known as the '' Tămădău Affair'', eventually led to the prosecution of the PNȚ leadership during a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

and to an official ban on all party activities.Lăcustă Arrested 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 ...

by the authorities of

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

, he was investigated by the notorious

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

officer . Hațieganu was prosecuted and sentenced on November 6, 1948 to three years in prison for "PNȚ activism" and "

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

". He was incarcerated at Cluj, Sighet,

Jilava Jilava is a commune in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ...

, Văcărești, and Ocnele Mari. In 1951, the term of his imprisonment in the infamous Sighet Prison was increased by another 60 months. He was released on June 15, 1955, and died in Cluj four years later.

Notes

References

* * * * (Insights into the events following the Second Vienna Award.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatieganu, Emil 1878 births 1959 deaths People from Cluj County Franz Joseph University alumni Delegates of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia Academic staff of Babeș-Bolyai University Rectors of Babeș-Bolyai University National Peasants' Party politicians Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian Greek-Catholics Romanian jurists Romanian people of World War II Ministers of health of Romania Ministers of labor of Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees Inmates of Jilava Prison Inmates of Sighet prison Inmates of Văcărești Prison