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Vasile Goldiș (12 November 1862 – 10 February 1934) was a Romanian politician, social theorist, and member of the Romanian Academy.


Early life

He was born on 12 November 1862 in his grandfather's (Teodor Goldiș) house in the village of Mocirla. His parents were Isaia and Floarea Goldiș. The family of his father had its origins in the Chișcău village,
Bihor County Bihor County (, ) is a county (județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea (Nagyvárad). Toponymy ...
. Around 1740 Teodor GoldiÈ™ moved with his family to Mocirla where Vasile GoldiÈ™ was born. The first years of his life were spent in the villages of Mocirla, SeleuÈ™, and
Cermei Cermei (, ) is a commune in Arad County, Romania, situated in the Teuz Plateau, in the basin of the river SartiÈ™ The SartiÈ™ is a right tributary of the river Beliu (river), Beliu in Romania. Formerly a right tributary of the Teuz, its flow w ...
in the house of his parents and grandparents. He started primary school in the village of Cermei in 1869 where he studied the first two grades in
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
with his teacher Nicolae Albu. He studied the third grade at the general school in Padanul Nou (now Horea,
Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...
). Between 1873 and 1881, he was a student of the Theoretical High School in Arad, being especially interested in history, literature, and philosophy. On 1 September 1881, he joined the classes of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Arad as a scholar of the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
. In 1881–1882 and 1884–1885 he was a student of the
University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
and between 1882 and 1884 he studied at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. During his student years, he became a member of the
Petru Maior Petru Maior (; 1756 in Marosvásárhely ''(now Târgu Mureș, Romania)'' – 14 February 1821 in Buda) was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania (the Transylv ...
and ''Romania Jună'' societies. After graduating, he became a professor at the Eötvös High School in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
on 1 September 1885. One year later he quit this job for patriotic reasons and moved to
CaransebeÈ™ CaransebeÈ™ (; ; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in CaraÈ™-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. One village, Jupa (), is administered by the city. The city is located at the confluence of the TimiÈ™ River with ...
, where he taught history and Latin at the Pedagogic-Theological Institute. Being eager to affirm himself in the struggle of the intellectual Romanians for more political rights in
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 ...
, on 5 March 1888 he sent a letter to George Barițiu, asking for a teacher job 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 ...
. A year later, on 1 September 1889, he was appointed professor 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, ...
, where he remained until 1901. He wrote many books on Latin, History, and Constitutional Law for his students. In 1890 he became a member and then secretary of the ''Romanian House'' 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, ...
.


Political activity


Before the war

In 1893 he became a 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 ...
and a collaborator in the '' Tribuna'' newspaper 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 ...
. Between 1895 and 1901 he acted as secretary at the ''Society for the Creation of the Romanian Theater'' which sponsored young Romanian actors from Transylvania. Since 1905 Vasile GoldiÈ™ devoted himself to political activity. On 10 January 1905 at the Romanian National Party (RNP) convention he demanded that passive resistance towards the governments in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
be put aside and asked for a new active and dynamic tactic in the struggle for more political rights of the Romanians in Austria-Hungary. This tactic, known as the "new activism", was not immediately adopted by the party but all the leaders were consonant with the idea. He wrote together with Emanoil Ungureanu and Ioan Mihu a memorandum on behalf of the RNP to the Hungarian government on 13 September 1910. The memo stated the following requests: the legal recognition on the National Romanian Party, the implementation of the universal vote and the repeal of the Apponyi educational law. All these requests were rejected, the RNP was dissolved and merged with other parties in
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 differences in opinions in the National Party concerning the talks with the Hungarian government sparked between 1910 and 1911 dissidences within the party. As a result, two separate wings formed: the radical wing, represented by the young members of the party, grouped around the ''Tribuna'' newspaper (
Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian far-right politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Biography Early life Octavian Goga was born on 1 April 1881 in the village of Rășinari, on the northern sl ...
, Ilarie Chendi,
Onisifor Ghibu Onisifor Ghibu (May 31, 1883 – October 3, 1972) was a Romanian teacher of pedagogy, member of the Romanian Academy, and politician. Biography Early life Born into a peasant family in Szelistye (now Săliște, Romania), near Nagyszeben (now Si ...
, Vasile Bocu) and the moderate wing, represented by the older members of the party. At first Vasile Goldiș joined the moderates, but after he had realized that this conflict would have irreparable consequences on the activity of the party, he suggested (together with Aurel Lazăr,
Ioan Suciu Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, born into a clerical family in Blaj. Suciu studied in Rome, Italy first at Sant'Atanasio and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internation ...
, Vasile Lucaciu, and
Ștefan Cicio Pop Ștefan Cicio Pop (1 April 1865 – 16 February 1934) was a Romanian politician. Biography Born in Șigău, Sajgó, Belső-Szolnok County, Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867), Principality of Transylvania, Austrian Empire, Pop's matern ...
) a compromise in order to preserve the political unity of the Romanians in Transylvania. Under these circumstances, in January 1911 he was appointed head of the ''Românul'' newspaper, published at Arad. ''Românul'' would become the voice of the Romanian political struggle after the close-down of the ''Tribuna'' newspaper in March 1912.


During the war

During the
First World War 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 ...
, he refused to sign the loyalty declaration towards Hungary as requested by the Tisza government. This act, qualified by the Hungarian authorities as "duplicity and lack of patriotism", determined the suspension of the ''Românul'' newspaper in March 1916. During the war, Vasile Goldiș continued to fight the official policy of
Magyarization Magyarization ( , also Hungarianization; ), after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in the Kingdom of Hungary, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, adop ...
. He protested against the internment in concentration camps of some ethnic Romanians suspected of treason by the Hungarian government.


Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia and Directory Council of Transylvania


Late life

On 2 May 1926 he was elected president of the national congress of the Romanian National Party at
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 ...
, but he stepped down after a short period and dedicated his time to cultural activities. Vasile GoldiÈ™ lived his last years in Arad in modest conditions. He died on 10 February 1934. In his honor several memorial services were held and the day of his burial was declared a day of national mourning. The Vasile GoldiÈ™ Western University of Arad is named in his honour.


References


External links


Vasile GoldiÅŸ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldis, Vasile 1862 births 1934 deaths People from Arad County Ministers of culture of Romania Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian National Party politicians Ethnic Romanian politicians in Transylvania Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Delegates of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia Moise Nicoară National College alumni