100 Greatest Romanians Explained

In 2006, Romanian Television (Televiziunea Română, TVR) conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considered the 100 Greatest Romanians of all time, in a version of the British TV show 100 Greatest Britons. The resulting series, Great Romanians (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: 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 21 October, TVR announced that the "greatest Romanian of all time" according to the voting was Stephen the Great.[1] [2]

Top 10

NoNameOccupation
1Stephen the Great(1435–1504)Prince of Moldavia won renown in Europe for his long resistance to the Ottoman Turks.
2Carol 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.
3Mihai Eminescu(1850–1889)Late Romantic poet, widely considered to be the most influential Romanian poet.
4Mihai Viteazul(1558–1601)Prince of Wallachia, Prince of Moldavia, Imperial governor of Transylvania, he was the first who managed to unite in personal union the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians.
5Richard Wurmbrand(1909–2001)Evangelical Christian doctor and educator who spent a total of fourteen years in communist prison.
6Ion Antonescu (1882–1946)Dictator of Romania during World War II
7Mircea Eliade(1907–1986)Researcher and professor of the history of religions, Orientalist and novelist.
8Alexandru 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.
9Constantin Brâncuși(1876–1957)Famous modern sculptor.
10Nadia 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.

Full list

  1. Stephen the Great
  2. Carol I
  3. Mihai Eminescu
  4. Mihai Viteazul
  5. Richard Wurmbrand
  6. Ion Antonescu
  7. Mircea Eliade
  8. Alexandru Ioan Cuza
  9. Constantin Brâncuși
  10. Nadia Comăneci
  11. Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989) – last communist dictator of Romania
  12. Vlad Țepeș (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) – founder of the Legionary Movement, the main Romanian fascist movement during the 1930s
  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, who oversaw the creation of "Greater Romania"
  25. Mihai I (1921–2017) – last King of Romania before communist period
  26. Decebalus (87–106) – last King of Dacia before Roman conquest
  27. Traian Băsescu (1951–) – politician, former President of Romania
  28. Gheorghe Mureșan (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, one of the scientists who developed diabetes treatment with insulin
  32. Iuliu Maniu (1873–1953) – politician, fought for the national rights of the Romanians of Transylvania
  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 Romanian revolution in Transylvania
  36. Burebista (? – 44 BC) – King of Dacia
  37. Marie of Romania (1875–1938) – Queen of Romania
  38. Petre Țuțea (1902–1991) – philosopher, Christian-fascist intellectual, victim of the communist regime
  39. Corneliu Coposu (1914–1995) – liberal 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 (1967–2010) – pop singer
  45. Corneliu Vadim Tudor (1949–2015) – ultranationalist 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 (1912–2008) – 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 (1926–2013) – jazz pianist
  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) – a stock character of Romanian jokes of the communist era
  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 Racoviță (1868–1947) – biologist, co-founder of biospeleology and explorer of Antarctica
  68. Victor Babeș (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 Țiriac (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 Nicoliță (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 (1981–) – pop music composer and singer
  86. Nicolae Steinhardt (1912–1989) – writer
  87. Laura Stoica (1967–2006) – pop and rock singer, composer and actress
  88. Cătălin Hâldan (1976–2000) – football player
  89. Anghel Saligny (1854–1925) – public works, chiefly railway engineer
  90. Ivan Patzaichin (1949–2021) – flatwater canoer who won seven Olympic medals
  91. Maria Tănase (1913–1963) – traditional and popular music singer
  92. Sergiu Nicolaescu (1930–2013) – film director, actor and politician
  93. Octavian Paler (1926–2007) – essayist
  94. The Unknown Soldier – the Romanian soldier in the national Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  95. Ciprian Porumbescu (1853–1883) – composer
  96. Nicolae Covaci (1947–2024) – founder of the 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 Cârțan (1849–1911) – a shepherd who fought for the independence of the Romanians of Transylvania (then under Hungarian rule inside Austria-Hungary)

Other editions

Other countries have produced similar shows; see Greatest Britons spin-offs

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cei mai mari Români. TVR. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060716010334/http://www.mariromani.ro/primapagina.php. 16 July 2006.
  2. Web site: Cei mai mari Români. TVR. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060717024920/http://www.mariromani.ro/top100.php. 17 July 2006.

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