| Leonida Lari | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Parliament of Romania | |
| In office 1992–2008 |
|
| Member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union | |
| In office 1989–1991 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 26, 1949 Bursuceni, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | December 11, 2011 (aged 62) Chişinău, Republic of Moldova |
| Political party | Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party (Romania) |
| Other political affiliations |
Greater Romania Party Popular Front of Moldova |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy |
Leonida Lari (26 October 1949 – 11 December 2011) was a Romanian poet, journalist, and politician from the Republic of Moldova, who advocated for the reunion of Bessarabia with Romania. She published 24 volumes of poetry and prose and was a prolific translator of key works from world literature into Romanian.
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Leonida Lari was born on October 26, 1949 in Bursuceni, Moldovan SSR, one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. Her parents, Ion and Nadejda Tuchilatu, were teachers. Lari had a younger brother, Leonard Tuchilatu, also a poet, who died when he was only 24 of kidney failure after being exposed to radiation under suspicious circumstances while under mandatory service in the Soviet army.[1]
Leonida Lari graduated from the State University of Chişinău, Moldova, with a major in philology. She worked at the Museum of Literature "D. Cantemir" in Chişinau (1971-1973), was an editor for the journal "Literatură şi Artă" (1985-1988), as well as editor-in-chief (1988-2003) of "Glasul Națiunii," the first publication in the Latin alphabet in the republic of Moldova.
Leonida Lari was one of the leaders of the movement for national emancipation in Bessarabia between 1988-1991. She was elected as a representative to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1988-1990) and was a member of the Permanent Bureau of the People's Front of Moldova (1990-1992). Between 1990 and 1997, Leonida Lari served as the president of the Christian-Democratic Women's League of Moldova (one of the constituent components of the Social-Liberal Party from 2001). In 1992, after repeated threats to the well-being of her children, Leonida Lari and her family fled to Bucharest, Romania. Between 1992 and 2008, Leonida Lari was a representative to the Parliament of Romania[2].
After a long battle with cancer, Leonida Lari passed away in Chișinău, Moldova on December 11, 2011. Her death was followed by a state funeral, during which thousands of Moldovans paid their respects.[3]