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Constantin-Radu Budișteanu (10 October 1902 – 27 December 1991) 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 lawyer and activist of the
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
. Born in
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...
,Philippe Henri Blasen, "The Roman Catholic Bishopric of Iași and the Jews (1941-1944)", in ''Archiva Moldaviae'', vol. XII/2020, p. 197 he studied at the Saint Sava High School 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 ...
, where he started the "Ion Eliad Rădulescu" literary society. He later studied literature, philosophy, and theology as well as law in
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.Gerhard Köpernik, ''Faschisten im KZ: Rumäniens Eiserne Garde und das Dritte Reich'', p. 262. Berlin: Frank & Timme GmbH, 2014. In 1927, he published his doctoral thesis in Paris, with a preface written by Gheorghe Tătărescu; the thesis was published in Romanian in Bucharest a year later.). From a
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 ...
family, he married Oriele-Maria Vignali, a Catholic from
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, in 1928 in Paris; the couple later divorced. The two had a daughter, Despina, born in 1930. Budișteanu became a prominent lawyer who entered the Guard in 1937 and served in the
Senate 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 ...
. Cicerone Ionițoiu
"Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar B"
/ref> After
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
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, ...
established a royal dictatorship in February 1938, Budișteanu was arrested; in July 1938, he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, held at
Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...
, and escaped the massacre of Guardists carried out in the wake of
Armand Călinescu Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister from March 1939 until Assassination of Armand Călinescu, his assassination six ...
's September 1939 assassination. On July 8, 1940, he became Minister of Culture and Religious Affairs in the cabinet of Ion Gigurtu, replacing
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 a ...
, who had resigned. Together with his colleagues, Vasile Noveanu and , he constituted the "Carlist group" of Guardists. Two weeks later, he annulled the state subsidy, which had been paid to the religious community of
Romanian Jews The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
for many years, and prohibited the baptism of Jews. He banned the purchase of Christian religious objects from Jewish-owned businesses, dismissed Jewish personnel from state and private theaters, and withdrew state recognition from Jewish schools. On September 9, by which time
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� ...
had assumed power, he signed two decrees. The first authorized eight religious bodies to function on Romanian soil: Romanian Orthodoxy, Greek-Catholicism,
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
(including the Ukrainian and Armenian Vicariates),
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
,
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
, Unitarian,
Armenian Apostolic The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic Church, belongs to the Arme ...
, and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Judaism was not mentioned, in contrast with the 1928 law he abrogated.Jacob Geller, Radu Valeriu Oprea, ''Rezistența spirituală a evreilor români în timpul Holocaustului (1940–1944)'', p. 36. Bucharest: Editura Hasefer, 2004. The second decree called into question the legal status of Judaism, providing that all extant synagogues had to cease functioning unless expressly authorized to do so by the ministry. Reacting to what was in effect the closure of synagogues and cemeteries, Chief Rabbi Alexandru Șafran persuaded Antonescu to cancel the measure.Carol Iancu, ''Alexandru Șafran si Șoahul neterminat în România'', p. 55. Bucharest: Editura Hasefer, 2010. Budișteanu was in government until the
National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...
was established on September 14., ''Istoria guvernelor României'', p. 137. Bucharest: Editura Machiavelli, 1999. He served as an attorney for Guard members arrested during the January 1941 Legionnaires' rebellion, but by December 1943 had shown a willingness to cooperate with Antonescu. In 1945, the new
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 government began to pursue Budișteanu, who was accused of complicity in provoking national disaster. He managed to hide until 1948, when he was arrested shortly after a
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 ...
was installed. He revealed the names of all those who helped him evade arrest; they in turn were sent to prison. Without being tried, he was incarcerated at
Ocnele Mari Ocnele Mari is a town located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers eight villages: Buda, Cosota, Făcăi, Gura Suhașului, Lunca, Ocnița, Slătioarele, and Țeica. The town is situated in the central part of the county, at ...
(1948–1952) and Sighet Prison (1952–1956). Tried in 1956, he was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor, and sent to Aiud Prison, where he agreed to undergo re-education from 1962 to 1964,"Instrumente digitale pentru studiul totalitarismului – B"
/ref> and also contributed articles to the propaganda organ ''
Glasul Patriei ''Glasul Patriei'' (Romanian for 'The Voice of the Fatherland') was Communist Romania's propaganda publication aimed at Romanian emigres, that served the aim of promoting the Socialist Republic of Romania as a harbour not only of socialist ideas, ...
'', reproaching himself for past errors. He was released in 1964, emigrating to
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
in the late 1970s. There, he re-established ties with Sima and considered himself a Guard leader, contributing to exile magazines. He died in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budisteanu, Radu 1902 births 1991 deaths People from Târgu Jiu Members of the Senate of Romania Members of the Iron Guard Ministers of culture of Romania Romanian collaborators with Nazi Germany People detained by the Securitate Inmates of Aiud prison Inmates of Sighet prison Romanian emigrants to Germany 20th-century Romanian lawyers Saint Sava National College alumni