Adrian Păunescu

Adrian Păunescu

Păunescu in July 2009
Born (1943-07-20)20 July 1943
Copăceni, Bălţi County, Romania, now Republic of Moldova
Died 5 November 2010(2010-11-05) (aged 67)
Bucharest, Romania
Resting place Bellu Cemetery
Occupation poet, politician, journalist
Language Romanian
Period 1960–2010
Notable works Ultrasentimente (1965), Flacăra magazine
Spouse Constanța Buzea (1961–1976),
Carmen Păunescu (b. Antal) (1990–2010)
Website
www.adrianpaunescu.ro

Adrian Păunescu (Romanian pronunciation: [adriˈan pə.uˈnesku]; 20 July 1943 – 5 November 2010) was a Romanian poet, journalist, and politician. Though criticised for praising dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu,[1] Păunescu was called "Romania's most famous poet"[1] in an Associated Press story, quoted by The New York Times.

Life

Born in Copăceni, Bălţi County, in what is now the Republic of Moldova, Păunescu spent his childhood in Bârca, Dolj County. He did his secondary studies at Carol I High School in Craiova.

Păunescu studied philology at the University of Bucharest and became a writer and journalist. He was an influential public figure for Romanian youth throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.[2] Though he was criticised for writing flattering poems about dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu,[1] Păunescu remained popular in Romania,[1] where he appeared on television several times a week.[1]

As posthumously summarized by newspaper România Liberă, Păunescu "is still viewed as a hero by the man in the street"[2] although "intellectuals continue to question his integrity and the literary value of his work".[2]

Flacăra and Cenaclul Flacăra

A member of the Union of Communist Youth between 1966 and 1968, and, between 1968 and 1989, of the Romanian Communist Party, Păunescu gained control over a major weekly publication, Flacăra and became the producer and host of the only itinerant folk and pop show in the country, Cenaclul Flacăra, founded in 1973.

Political career

After 1989 Păunescu pursued a political career, aligning himself with socialism and then social-democratic political parties.

In 1996, he ran in the Romanian presidential election but received only 87,163 votes (0.69%). He was a senator from 1992 to 2008, representing Dolj County (1992–2004) and then Hunedoara County (2004–2008), first of the Socialist Labour Party, and later of the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He received the most votes in his district at the 2008 election, but failed to win a seat after the votes were redistributed pursuant to the MMP system used.

Death

Aged 67, Păunescu was hospitalized on 26 October 2010 in the intensive care unit of the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, with problems of more vital organs caused by pulmonary edema. Păunescu had subsequent renal, liver and heart failure. He was declared dead at 7.15 AM, on 5 November 2010.[3] Survived by his wife and three children, Păunescu was posthumously thanked by Romania's president Traian Băsescu who in saluting him mentioned only his contributions to art.[1]

Books

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The New York Times, "Adrian Paunescu, Poet Who Praised a Dictator, Dies at 67" (with Associated Press), 7 November 2010 print edition, page A34 (via www.nytimes.com)
  2. 1 2 3 Presseurop, "Death of Ceauşescu's poet laureate" (with România Liberă), 8 November 2010, www.presseurop.eu/en
  3. ↑ "Poetul Adrian Păunescu a murit" (The poet Adrian Păunescu has died) (in Romanian)
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Official links
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