List of Romanians

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Note: Names that cannot be confirmed in Wikipedia database nor through given sources are subject to removal. If you would like to add a new name please consider writing about the person first. If a notable Romanian is missing and without article, please add your request for a new article here. However, this is not a list of all famous Romanians.

This is a list of some of the most prominent Romanians. It contains historical and important contemporary figures (athletes, actors, directors etc.).

Most of the people listed here are of Romanian ethnicity, whose native tongue is Romanian. There are also a few mentioned who were born in Romania and can speak Romanian, though not of Romanian ethnicity.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Historical and political figures

[edit] Medieval

Basarab I the Founder, first voivode of Wallachia
Mircea cel Bătrân (Mircea the Elder), voivode of Wallachia
Neagoe Basarab, voivode of Wallachia
Ioan Corvin voivode of Transylvania and Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary
Nicolaus Olahus, Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Kingdom of Hungary
Ştefan cel Mare, voivode of Moldavia
Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula), voivode, Dracula inspiration
Alexandru cel Bun, voivode of Moldavia
Petru Rareş, voivode of Moldavia
Mihai Viteazul, prince of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania

[edit] Renaissance Age

Antioch Kantemir; poet and Russian ambassador
Dimitrie Cantemir; ruler of Moldavia, historian, writer, and music composer
Constantin Brancoveanu

[edit] Modern era

Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza
King Carol I of Romania, of German origins
King Ferdinand I of Romania
King Carol II of Romania
King Mihai of Romania

[edit] Politicians

Ion Antonescu, prime minister and Conducător (Leader) during World War II
Alexandru Averescu, general and politician
Nicolae Bălcescu, historian, revolutionary
Antoine Bibesco, diplomat, writer
Ion I. C. Brătianu
Lascăr Catargiu
Ion Duca, prime minister in interbellum Romania
Petre Dumitrescu, general
Avram Iancu, revolutionary
Mihail Lascăr, WWII general, Minister of Defense
Mugur Isărescu, economist, former Prime Minister
Mihail Manoilescu, economist and politician
Nicolae Rădescu, prime minister during WWII
Dimitrie Sturdza
Octavian Goga, writer, former Prime Minister
Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea, former mayor of Bucharest

[edit] National Peasants' Party

Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania
Radu Vasile, economist and politician, former Prime Minister
Gheorghe Ciuhandu, Mayor of Timişoara, National Peasants' Party
Ion Raţiu, politician, National Peasants' Party
Corneliu Coposu, politician, National Peasants' Party
Doina Cornea, noted dissident and intellectual, National Peasants' Party
Iuliu Maniu, politician, one of the creators of the National Peasants' Party
Ion Mihalache, politician, National Peasants' Party

[edit] National Liberal Party (Romania)

Former members before November 1947, when the Romanian Communists dissolved the party:

Ion C. Brătianu, Prime Minister of Romania
Ion I. C. Brătianu, politician, one of the founders of the Liberal movement in Romania, Prime Minister, son of Ion C. Brătianu
Ion G. Duca, Prime Minister, assassinated by Iron Guard
Ion Ghica, mathematician, diplomat, Prime Minister
Mihail Kogălniceanu, lawyer, historian, publicist, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Internal Affairs
C. A. Rosetti, publicist

Former members after 1989:

Theodor Stolojan, leader of the party 2002–2004, expelled in 2006
Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs 2004–2007, head of Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service since 2007

Current members:

Radu Câmpeanu, first leader of the party after the 1989 revolution
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, former Prime Minister
Crin Antonescu, current leader of the party

[edit] Romanian Communist Party

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gaston Marin, (previously Grossmann) politician, vice-president of the Government under Gheorghiu Dej
Elena Ceauşescu – deputy premier under her husband
Nicolae Ceauşescu, the last Romanian Communist head of state
See also: list of Romanian communists

[edit] Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)

Traian Băsescu, the current president of Romania
Theodor Stolojan, economist and politician, former prime minister
Emil Boc, the current prime minister and president of the Democratic Liberal Party
Vasile Stoica, politician
Vasile Blaga

[edit] Social Democratic Party (Romania)

Mircea Geoană, former Foreign Minister, former president of the Social Democratic Party
Cristian Diaconescu
Adrian Năstase, former Prime Minister

[edit] Diplomats

Alexandru Paleologu, diplomat,writer
Theodor Paleologu, diplomat, son of Alexnadru Paleologu, politician
Eugen Filotti, diplomat
Grigore Gafencu, diplomat
Savel Rădulescu, diplomat
Nicolae Titulescu, diplomat, politician of the National Peasants' Party
Constantin Vişoianu, diplomat
Cristian Diaconescu, diplomat,politician, jurist

[edit] Arts

[edit] Architecture

Horia Creangă, Modernism
Marcel Iancu, Modernism
Ion Mincu
Alexandru Oraşcu, Neoclassicism

[edit] Dance

Sergiu Anghel, choreographer, director, scenarist
Alina Cojocaru, ballerina
Sergiu Pobereznic, Romanian born retired English ballet principal dancer

[edit] Painting

[edit] Sculpture

[edit] Writing

Ion Luca Caragiale
Andrei Codrescu, poet and essayist
Andrei Pleşu, writer, philosopher, essayist, journalist
Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu, philologist, linguist
Horia-Roman Patapievici, writer, philosopher, essayist
Ion Pillat, poet, publicist, academic
Lucian Blaga, philosopher, poet, playwright
Marin Sorescu, poet, playwright
Nae Ionescu, philosopher, writer, logician
Nichita Danilov, poet, essayist, novelist
Nichita Stănescu, poet and playwright
Petre Ţuţea
Vasile Alecsandri, poet and playwright
Vasile Voiculescu, poet, writer, playwright
Virgil Nemoianu, essayist, literary critic, philosopher of culture
George Cǎlinescu, literary critic

[edit] Philosophers

Constantin Noica, philosopher
Emil Cioran, essayist, philosopher
Stéphane Lupasco, philosopher
Theodor Paleologu, politician, philosopher

[edit] Poets

Mihai Eminescu, poet and journalist
Nichita Stănescu, poet
Mircea Dinescu, poet, journalist
Tudor Arghezi, poet
George Bacovia, poet
Ion Barbu, poet
Paul Celan, poet (German language)
George Coşbuc, poet
Octavian Goga, poet and political figure
Radu Gyr, poet
Iulia Hasdeu, poet
Isidore Isou, poet
Irving Layton , poet
Gherasim Luca, surrealist poet
Andrei Mureşanu, poet and revolutionary
Gellu Naum, poet

[edit] Writers

Marthe Bibesco, writer
Ion Luca Caragiale, playwright
Mateiu Caragiale, novelist
Mircea Cărtărescu, writer, essayist
Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, writer, essayist
Ion Creangă, writer, especially of children's stories
Ioan Petru Culianu, historian of religion
Mircea Eliade, historian of religion; also novelist
Mihail Fărcăşanu, writer, novelist
Virgil Gheorghiu, novelist
Paul Goma, writer
Vintilă Horia, prominent writer
Eugène Ionesco, playwright
Petre Ispirescu, writer
Herta Müller, writer, 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature
Oskar Pastior, writer
Marin Preda, novelist
Vasile Pogor, writer
Doina Ruşti, novelist
Liviu Rebreanu, writer
Mihail Sadoveanu, novelist
Mihail Sebastian, writer, playwright
Ioan Slavici, writer
Panait Istrati, novelist
Nicolae Iorga, historian, politician
Gabriel Liiceanu, writer, editor
Nicolae Milescu, writer, diplomat
Urmuz, writer
Richard Wagner (novelist), writer

[edit] Literary critics

[edit] Historians

Gheorghe I. Brătianu
George Călinescu
Constantin Daicoviciu
Nicolae Densuşianu
Constantin C. Giurescu
Neagu Djuvara
Adrian Cioroianu
Dinu C. Giurescu, Member of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences and Member of the Romanian Academy since 2002.^[1]
Nicolae Iorga
Vasile Pârvan
A. D. Xenopol
Alexandru Zub

[edit] Journalists

Eugen Filotti, journalist, Director of the Press
Leonard Miron, journalist and Romanian National TV presenter
Cristian Tudor Popescu, journalist and science-fiction writer
Ion Cristoiu

[edit] Linguists

[edit] Music

See also Music of Romania, especially for contemporary pop musicians.

[edit] Composers

George Enescu, composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher
Pascal Bentoiu, composer
Tiberiu Brediceanu, composer and conductor
Nicolae Bretan, opera composer
Nicolae Brânzeu,composer and conductor
Eduard Caudella, composer
Paul Constantinescu, composer
Dimitrie Cuclin, composer
Constantin Dimitrescu, composer, cellist
Sabin Dragoi, composer
Iancu Dumitrescu, composer, conductor, musicologist
Iosif Ivanovici
Dinu Lipatti
Liviu Marinescu, composer
Nonna Otescu, composer
Anton Pann, composer
Ciprian Porumbescu, composer
Cornel Trailescu, composer

[edit] Musicians

Silviu Castron, Punk bass player, rapist
Dan Andrei Aldea, rock guitarist, composer, singer
Christian Badea, conductor
Lucian Ban, jazz composer & pianist
Sergiu Celibidache, orchestra conductor
Marin Constantin, conductor of the Madrigal chamber choir
Nicu Covaci, rock guitarist, composer, vocalist
Michael Cretu, musician (Enigma)
Grigoraş Dinicu, violinist, composer
George Georgescu, orchestra conductor
Valeriu Găină, ghitarist
Clara Haskil, pianist
Hugo Jan Huss, orchestra conductor and violinist
Ovidiu Lipan, drummer (Phoenix)
Dinu Lipatti, pianist, composer
Radu Lupu, pianist
Cristi Minculescu, rock singer and composer
Jonel (Ionel) Perlea, conductor
Valentin Radu, conductor, Vox AmaDeus
Constantin Silvestri, orchestra conductor and composer
Laura Stoica, pop-rock singer and composer
Cristian Vasile, tango singer
Dorin Liviu Zaharia, composer and singer
Gheorghe Zamfir, pan flute musician
Vlad Gheorghiu, guitarist of the band Jet Lag Gemini
Matei Gheorghiu, bassist of the band Jet Lag Gemini
Tudor Gheorghe, musician, composer and singer

[edit] Classic

Dinu Lipatti, pianist and composer
Radu Lupu, pianst
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano
Hariclea Darclée, soprano
Ileana Cotrubaş, soprano
Mariana Nicolescu, soprano
Virginia Zeani, soprano

[edit] Folk and derivatives

Maria Tănase, Romanian popular music singer

[edit] Hip hop

Tataee, producer, composer, vocalist
Guess Who, vocalist, composer

[edit] Instruments

Alexander Bălănescu, violinist
Gheorghe Zamfir, panpipes player
Ion Voicu, violinist
Johnny Răducanu, jazz pianist

[edit] Pop/Techno

Loredana Groza, pop singer
Nicoleta Alexandru, pop/techno singer

[edit] Film and theatre

List of Romanian Actors

Mircea Albulescu, actor
Ştefan Bănică, Jr., actor
Monica Bârlădeanu, actress
Radu Beligan, actor, director
Joana Benedek, actress
Ion Luca Caragiale, playwright
Ion Caramitru, actor
Mircea Crișan, actor, comic, cabaretist
Gheorghe Dinică, actor
Maria Filotti, actress
Luminiţa Gheorghiu, actress
Marcel Iureş, actor
Elena-Cristina Marchisano, actress
Alexandra Maria Lara, actress
Anamaria Marinca, actress
Nicolas Masson, director
Nicolae Massim, director
George Mihăiţă, actor
Cătălin Mitulescu, film director
Maia Morgenstern, actress
Florentina Mosora, movie actress and later scientist and professor of medical biophysics
Cristian Mungiu, film director
Jean Negulescu, film director, Oscar nominee
Sergiu Nicolaescu, film director
Amza Pellea, actor
Florin Piersic, actor, movies
Florian Pittiş, actor
Elvira Popescu, actress
Corneliu Porumboiu, film director
Cristi Puiu, film director
Victor Rebengiuc, actor
Edward G. Robinson, actor
Andrei Şerban, director of theatre and opera
Sebastian Stan, actor
Saviana Stănescu, playwright
Constantin Tănase, cabaretist, comic and poet, shot by the soviet army of occupation in Bucharest, in 1945
Grigore Vasiliu Birlic, actor
Tora Vasilescu, actress
Johnny Weissmuller, actor

[edit] Religion

Arsenie Boca
Teoctist Arăpaşu, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Miron Cristea, first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Iuliu Hossu, Greek-Catholic bishop of the Cluj-Gherla Diocese and later cardinal
Justinian Marina, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Iustin Moisescu, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Nicodim Munteanu, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Dumitru Stăniloae, priest, translated the Philokalia into Romanian
Vasile Suciu, Greek-Catholic Metropolitan bishop of the Archdiocese of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia
Alexandru Todea, Greek-Catholic Metropolitan bishop of the Archdiocese of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia and later cardinal
Lucian Turcescu, Orthodox theologian teaching at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada), president of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, 2004–2008
Richard Wurmbrand, pastor, author of Tortured for Christ
Daniel Ciobotea, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church

[edit] Sports

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Basketball

Ernie Grunfeld, NBA guard/forward & GM, Olympic champion^[2]
Gheorghe Mureşan

[edit] Boxing

Lucian Bute
Adrian Diaconu
Leonard Doroftei
Mihai Leu
Francisc Vaştag
Victor Zilberman, Olympic welterweight boxer, bronze medal

[edit] Canoe

Leon Rotman, sprint canoer, 2-time Olympic champion (C-1 10,000 meter, C-1 1,000-meter) and bronze (C-1 1,000-meter), 14 national titles

[edit] Chess

[edit] Football

Ioan Andone
Ilie Balaci
Ladislau Bölöni
Cristian Chivu
Cosmin Contra
Nicolae Dica
Nicolae Dobrin
Helmuth Duckadam
Ilie Dumitrescu
Bolborea Dumitru, assistant coach of Steaua Bucharest
Ioan Viorel Ganea
Dorin Goian
Gheorghe Hagi
Cătălin Hâldan
Adrian Iencsi
Adrian Ilie
Anghel Iordănescu
Emerich Jenei
Michael Klein
Miodrag Belodedici
Marius Lăcătuş
Mircea Lucescu
Silviu Lung
Viorel Moldovan
Dorinel Munteanu
Adrian Mutu
Claudiu Niculescu
Gheorghe Popescu
Florin Răducioiu
Ioan Sabău
Tibor Selymes
Bogdan Stelea
Florin Prunea

[edit] Gymnastics

Simona Amânar
Oana Ban
Octavian Belu – former women's coach
Sabina Cojocar
Nadia Comăneci
Aurelia Dobre
Marian Drăgulescu
Emilia Eberle
Alexandra
Gina Gogean
Sandra Izbaşa
Marta Károlyi, gymnastics coach
Alexandra Marinescu
Lavinia Miloşovici
Dominique Moceanu – Born in U.S. to Romanian immigrants.
Aura Andreea Munteanu
Steliana Nistor
Maria Olaru
Cătălina Ponor
Claudia Presăcan
Andreea Răducan
Monica Roşu
Daniela Silivaş
Nicoleta Daniela Şofronie
Ioan Silviu Suciu
Corina Ungureanu
Teodora Ungureanu
Marius Urzică

[edit] Rowing

[edit] Tennis

Ilie Năstase
Andrei Pavel
Victor Hănescu
Dinu Pescariu
Răzvan Sabău
Ion Ţiriac; also a very successful businessman
Virginia Ruzici 1978 French Open winner
Magda Rurac
Irina Spîrlea
Ruxandra Dragomir
Sorana Cîrstea
Edina Gallovits
Monica Niculescu
Ioana Raluca Olaru

[edit] Other sports

Laura Badea, Romanian fencer and olympic champion in foil competition
Luminiţa Dinu-Huţupan handball player
Alina Dumitru, olympic judo champion
Daniel Negreanu, Canadian poker player
Angelica Rozeanu (Adelstin), 17-time world table tennis champion; ITTF Hall of Fame

[edit] Science

[edit] Biology

Grigore Antipa, hydrobiologist
Ana Aslan, geriatrics researcher
Victor Babeş, biologist
Dimitrie Brândză, botanist
Ioan Cantacuzino, microbiologist
Wilhelm Knechtel, botanist
Andy Lehrer, entomologist
Nicolae Leon, biologist
Gheorghe Marinescu, neurologist
Mina Minovici, forensic scientist
Constantin Parhon, endocrinologist
George Emil Palade, 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner
Nicolae Paulescu, discovered insulin
Emil Racoviţă, biologist and speleologist

[edit] Chemistry

Lazăr Edeleanu, chemist
Henrick Kacser, physical chemist
Costin Neniţescu, founder of the Romanian school of Organic Chemistry
Petre Frangopol, physical and organic chemist/biophysical chemist, Emeritus Professor
Nicolae Teclu, inventor of the Teclu gas burner

[edit] Physicians

Carol Davila
Iuliu Haţieganu
Raed Arafat, the founder and of Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication (SMURD), (a Syrian-born Palestinian refugee , he has been living in Romania for several decades)
David Wechsler, psychologist
Daniel O David, professor, psychologist, and psychotherapist
Adrian Bejan, inventor of constructal theory
Alexandru Ciurcu, inventor, with M.M. Just Buisson, of the first reactive engine
George Constantinescu, inventor
Anastase Dragomir, inventor – parachute cell, predecessor of the ejection seat
Rodrig Goliescu, inventor – the first airplane with a tubular fuselage
Petrache Poenaru, inventor
Elie Radu, architect, engineer
Anghel Saligny, engineer
Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen, engineer
Vasile Vasilescu, professor, neurophysiologist specialized in membrane biophysics

[edit] Aerospace

Henri Coandă, aircraft designer and discoverer of the Coanda effect of fluidics
Elie Carafoli, aeronautics engineer
Aurel Vlaicu, flight pioneer
Traian Vuia

[edit] Astronauts

Dumitru Prunariu, Romania's first and only cosmonaut

[edit] Mathematics

Emanoil Bacaloglu
Dan Barbilian
Florin Boca, university professor of mathematics
Anton Davidoglu
George Georgescu, Emeritus Professor of mathematics and logic
Ion Ghica
Alexandru Ghika
Spiru Haret
Traian Lalescu
Alexandru Lupaș
Octav Mayer
Gheorghe Mihoc
Grigore Moisil, Member of the Romanian Academy
Miron Nicolescu, Member of the Romanian Academy
Octav Onicescu
Preda Mihăilescu
Valentin Poénaru
Dimitrie Pompeiu
Nicolae Popescu, Member of the Romanian Academy
Simion Stoilow
Gheorghe Vrânceanu
Gheorghe Ţiţeica, Member of the Romanian Academy
Dan-Virgil Voiculescu

[edit] Physics

Ion Cristescu, reproduction of cancerous tumors, first Romanian industrial robots
Emanoil Bacaloglu, physicist, chemist and mathematician
Victor Albert Bailey, physicist (Romanian on his mother's side)
Cristian Constantinescu, solid-state physicist, professor
Peter George Oliver Freund, physicist
Mihai Gavrilă, theoretical quantum physicist, professor, Corresponding Member of the Romanian Academy
Horia Hulubei, atomic physicist, professor, Member of the Romanian Academy
Theodor V. Ionescu, plasma physicist, professor, Member of the Romanian Academy
Alexandru Marin, physicist, professor
Florentina I. Mosora, biophysicist and nuclear medicine professor, Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Horaţiu Năstase
Alexandru Proca, theoretical physicist, Member of the Romanian Academy
Ștefan Procopiu, theoretical physicist, Member of the Romanian Academy
Dr. Carmen Sabău, Member Emeritus of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences
Mircea Sabău, high-energy physicist and nuclear medicine imaging, Member of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences
Ionel Solomon, solid-state physicist, professor, Member of the French Academy, former President of the French Physics Society
Șerban Țițeica, theoretical physicist, founder of the Romanian modern school of theoretical physics, Member of the Romanian Academy
Radu Pârvan, plasma physicist, Professor Emeritus.
Voicu Vlad Grecu, Ph.D., nuclear physicist, professor^[3]

[edit] Computer Science

Ştefan Odobleja, scientist, precursor of cybernetics
Mihai Nadin, computer scientist
Victor Toma, computer engineer, born in Romanian Bessarabia

[edit] Others

Dimitrie Gusti, sociologist
David Mitrany (1888–1975), political theorist
George Pomutz (1818–1882), ethnic Romanian United States general in the Civil War, and a diplomat
Emil Racoviţă, polar explorer
Henri Stahl, stenographer
Henri H. Stahl, cultural anthropologist, ethnographer, sociologist, social historian

[edit] Polymaths

Simion Bărnuţiu, jurist, priest, politician, publicist, lawyer, writer, professor
Matyla Ghyka, famous polymath, architect, mathematician and author
Mihail Kogălniceanu lawyer, historian, publicist, politician, cultural peacemaker

[edit] Business

Dinu Patriciu, former CEO of Rompetrol
George Becali, owner of FC Steaua Bucharest
Octav Botnar, Nissan UK chairman, billionaire
Iosif Constantin Drăgan, gas tycoon, billionaire and academic
John DeLorean, US car industry executive, engineer, inventor of Pontiac GTO Muscle car and Delorean DMC-12
Darius Muica, famous banker

[edit] Miscellaneous Famous People

Ana Cumpănaş (a.k.a. Anna Sage), the "Woman in Red" who helped FBI catch John Dillinger

[edit] References

^ http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinu_C._Giurescu Biography of Acad. Dinu C. Giurescu (ro)
^ "Jews in Sports: Basketball". Jewish Virtual Library. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/basketballtoc.html. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voicu_Vlad_Grecu Biography

[edit] See also

List of Romanian inventors and discoverers
List of Jewish Romanians
List of Romanian-Americans
List of Vlachs for Vlachs from South of Danube (Aromanians)
List of people by nationality

[0] ttp://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinu_C._Giurescu Biography of Acad. Dinu C. Giurescu (ro)

[jewishvirtuallibrary1-1] "Jews in Sports: Basketball". Jewish Virtual Library. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/basketballtoc.html. Retrieved May 25, 2010.

[2] ttp://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voicu_Vlad_Grecu Biography

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[3]