100 greatest Romanians

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In 2006, the Romanian Television (Televiziunea Română, TVR) conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considers the 100 greatest Romanians of all time, in a version of the British TV show 100 greatest Britons. The resulting series, "Great Romanians" ("Mari Români"), included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate. On October 21st, TVR announced that the "greatest Romanian of all time" according to the voting was Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great).

[edit] 1-100

1. Ştefan cel Mare (1433 – 1504) - Prince of Moldavia (1457-1504), he turned Moldavia into a strong state and maintained its independence; as a defender of Christianity, he was sanctified by the Romanian Orthodox Church
2. Carol I (1839 – 1914) - the first Romanian ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty (1866 - 1914), the first King of Romania (since 1881) after the country acquired full independence under his leadership
3. Mihai Eminescu (1850 – 1889) - late Romantic poet, widely considered to be the most influential Romanian poet
4. Mihai Viteazul (1558 – 1601) - Prince of Wallachia, he achieved the first union of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia (the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians)
5. Richard Wurmbrand (1909 – 2001) - evangelical Christian minister, author and educator who spent a total of fourteen years in communist prison
6. Ion Antonescu (1882 – 1946) - the prime minister and leader of Romania during World War II
7. Mircea Eliade (1907 – 1986) - researcher and professor of the history of religions, Orientalist and novelist
8. Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1820 – 1873) - the first ruler of the United Principalities of Romania after the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859; his reforms started the modernization of Romania
9. Constantin Brâncuşi (1876 – 1957) - famous modern sculptor
10. Nadia Comăneci (1961 – ) - gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event
11. Nicolae Ceauşescu (1918 – 1989) - last communist president of Romania
12. Vlad Ţepeş (1431 – 1476) - Prince of Wallachia
13. Gigi Becali (1958 – ) - politician and businessman, football club owner
14. Henri Coandă (1886 – 1972) - inventor and aerodynamics pioneer
15. Gheorghe Hagi (1965 – ) - football player
16. Ion Luca Caragiale (1852 – 1912) - playwright and short story writer
17. Nicolae Iorga (1871 – 1940) - historian, writer, and politician
18. Constantin Brâncoveanu (1654 – 1714) - Prince of Wallachia
19. George Enescu (1881 – 1955) - composer and musician
20. Gregorian Bivolaru (1952 – ) - founder of MISA yoga organization
21. Mirel Rădoi (1980 – ) - football player
22. Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899 – 1938) - leader of a Romanian nationalist movement during the 30s
23. Nicolae Titulescu (1882 – 1941) - diplomat, president of the League of Nations
24. Ferdinand I of Romania (1865 – 1927) - King of Romania during World War I
25. Mihai I (1921 – ) - last King of Romania before communist period
26. Decebal (87 – 106) - last King of Dacia before Roman conquest
27. Traian Băsescu (1951 – ) - politician, President of Romania
28. Gheorghe Mureşan (1971 – ) - NBA basketball player
29. Ion I. C. Brătianu (1864 – 1927) - liberal politician, Prime Minister of Romania for five terms
30. Răzvan Lucescu (1969 – ) football player and football club manager
31. Nicolae Paulescu (1869 – 1931) - physiologist, the discoverer of insulin
32. Iuliu Maniu (1873 – 1953) - politician
33. Iuliu Hossu (1885 – 1970) - Greek-Catholic bishop, victim of the communist regime
34. Emil Cioran (1911 – 1995) - philosopher, writer, and essayist
35. Avram Iancu (1824 – 1872) - leader of the 1848 revolution in Transylvania
36. Burebista (? – 44 BC) - King of Dacia
37. Regina Maria (1875 – 1938) - Queen of Romania
38. Petre Ţuţea (1902 – 1991) - philosopher, victim of the communist regime
39. Corneliu Coposu (1914 – 1995) - politician, victim of the communist regime
40. Aurel Vlaicu (1882 – 1913) - inventor, aviation pioneer
41. Iosif Trifa (1888 – 1938) - Eastern Orthodox priest, founder of the "Oastea Domnului" ("Lord's Army") Christian organisation
42. Nichita Stănescu (1933 – 1983) - poet and essayist
43. Ion Creangă (1837 – 1889) - writer
44. Mădalina Manole (? – ) - pop singer
45. Corneliu Vadim Tudor (1949 – ) - strongly nationalistic politician, writer and journalist; founder and leader of the Greater Romania party
46. Traian Vuia (1872 – 1950) - inventor, aviation pioneer
47. Lucian Blaga (1895 – 1961) - poet, playwright, and philosopher
48. George Emil Palade (1912 – ) - cell biologist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1974)
49. Ana Aslan (1897 – 1988) - biologist, physician and inventor, the author of essential research in gerontology
50. Adrian Mutu (1979 – ) - football player
51. Florin Piersic (1936 – ) - theater and film actor
52. Mihail Kogălniceanu (1817 – 1891) - politician and historian, first Prime Minister of the United Principalities of Romania
53. Iancsi Korossy (1926 – ) - jazz player
54. Dimitrie Cantemir (1673 – 1723) - Prince of Moldavia and prolific man of letters
55. Ilie Năstase (1946 – ) - tennis player
56. Gheorghe Zamfir (1941 – ) - musician, pan flute player
57. Gică Petrescu (1915 – 2006) - musician, folk and pop music composer and singer
58. Elisabeta Rizea (1912 – 2003) - anti-communist partisan
59. Bulă (fictional) - the main character of Romanian jokes
60. Amza Pellea (1931 – 1983) - theater and film actor
61. Matei Corvin (1443 (?) – 1490) - King of Hungary
62. Mircea cel Bătrân (1355 – 1418) - Prince of Wallachia
63. Titu Maiorescu (1840 – 1917) - literary critic and politician
64. Toma Caragiu (1925 – 1977) - theater and film actor
65. Mihai Trăistariu (1979 – ) - pop singer
66. Andreea Marin (1974 – ) - TV show host
67. Emil Racoviţă (1868 – 1947) - biologist, speleologist and explorer of Antarctica
68. Victor Babeş (1854 – 1926) - biologist and early bacteriologist, one of the founders of microbiology
69. Nicolae Bălcescu (1819 – 1852) - leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution
70. Horia-Roman Patapievici (1957 – ) - writer and essayist
71. Ion Iliescu (1930 – ) - first President of Romania after the 1989 revolution
72. Marin Preda (1922 – 1980) - novelist
73. Eugen Ionescu (1909 – 1994) - playwright, one of the initiators of the theatre of the absurd
74. Dumitru Stăniloae (1903 – 1993) - Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian
75. Alexandru Todea (1905 – 2002) - Greek-Catholic bishop, victim of the communist regime
76. Tudor Gheorghe (1945 – ) - singer and theater actor
77. Ion Ţiriac (1939 – ) - tennis player and businessman
78. Ilie Cleopa (1912 – 1998) - Eastern Orthodox archimandrite
79. Arsenie Boca (1910 – 1989) - Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian, victim of the communist regime
80. Bănel Nicoliţă (1985 – ) - football player
81. Dumitru Cornilescu (1891 – 1975) - Eastern Orthodox, then Protestant priest, translated the Bible into Romanian in 1921
82. Grigore Moisil (1906 – 1973) - mathematician and computing pioneer
83. Claudiu Niculescu (1976 – ) - football player
84. Florentin Petre (1976 – ) - football player
85. Marius Moga (? – ) - pop music composer and singer
86. Nicolae Steinhardt (1912 – 1989) - writer
87. Laura Stoica (1967 – 2006) - pop and rock singer
88. Cătălin Hâldan (1976 – 2000) - football player
89. Anghel Saligny (1854 – 1925) - engineer
90. Ivan Patzaichin (1949 – ) - flatwater canoer who won seven Olympic medals
91. Maria Tănase (1913 – 1963) - traditional and popular music singer
92. Sergiu Nicolaescu (1930 – ) - film director, actor and politician
93. Octavian Paler (1926 – ) - essayist
94. Eroul Necunoscut - the Unknown Hero
95. Ciprian Porumbescu (1853 – 1883) - composer
96. Nicolae Covaci (1947 – ) - founder of the Pasărea Phoenix rock band
97. Dumitru Prunariu (1952 – ) - first Romanian cosmonaut
98. Iancu de Hunedoara (c. 1387 – 1456) - Voivode of Transylvania, captain-general and regent of the Kingdom of Hungary
99. Constantin Noica (1909 – 1987) - philosopher and essayist
100. Badea Cârţan (1849 – 1911) - a shepherd who fought for the independence of the Romanians of Transylvania (then under Hungarian rule inside Austria-Hungary)

[edit] Worst Romanians

Evenimentul Zilei also conducted a poll about the worst Romanians (Bitter Romanians *) and the results were:

1. Ion Iliescu (the first president after 1989)
2. Nicolae Ceauşescu (the last communist president before December 1989)
3. Gigi Becali (controversial businessman, party leader and chairman of the football club Steaua Bucharest)
4. Adrian Năstase (the Prime Minister of Romania between 2000 and 2004)
5. Carol II (King of Romania between World Wars)
6. Mihai I (the last King of Romania)
7. Traian Băsescu (president of Romania, elected in 2004)
8. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (first communist leader of Romania, after World War II)
9. Elena Ceauşescu (Nicolae Ceauşescu's wife and #2 in the Romanian communist government until December 1989)
10. Sorin Ovidiu Vântu (a controversial businessman)

• it's a word play: "Mari" (great) - "Amari" (bitter)

[edit] External links

• mariromani.ro
• Evenimentul Zilei, Ion Iliescu, "pelinul" romanilor