Doina Cornea 1641660 206252708 2008-04-17T14:48:02Z Biruitorul 1399437 +category <!-- [[Image:Doina_cornea.jpeg|frame|Doina Cornea]] --> '''Doina Cornea''' (born [[30 May]] [[1929]], [[Braşov]]) is a [[Romania]]n [[human rights]] activist and professor of the [[French language]]. She was notable as a [[dissident]] during the [[Communist Romania|communist regime]] of [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]. ==Dissidence under communism== Cornea worked as a teacher at [[Babeş-Bolyai University]] in [[Cluj-Napoca]]. In 1980 she published her first ''[[samizdat]]'' book, ''Încercarea Labirintului'' ("The Test of the Labyrinth"), followed by four other ''samizdat'' translations (from French). Between 1982 and 1989 Cornea released 31 texts and protests against the Ceauşescu regime, sending them illegally to [[Radio Free Europe]]. In 1983 she was fired from the university because of her political activity. She was interrogated, beaten, and threatened with death by the [[Securitate]] (the Romanian communist secret police). Together with her son, Leontin Iuhaş, she spread 160 [[manifesto]]s of solidarity with the workers who rebelled against the Ceauşescu regime in the [[Braşov 1987 uprising]]. Both were arrested and held in custody for five weeks during November-December 1987. Subsequently, she was put on [[house arrest]] by the Romanian Secret Services. She was released [[21 December]] [[1989]] (during the [[Romanian Revolution of 1989|Romanian Revolution]], on the day before the Ceauşescu regime fell); immediately after her release, she began taking part in the street demonstrations in Cluj-Napoca. ==Activity after December 1989== After [[22 December]] [[1989]] Cornea was asked to become a member of the first post-communist government organization, the National Council of the [[National Salvation Front]]. She quit this body on [[23 January]] [[1990]] after it decided to run as a party in the 1990 elections.<ref>"Doina Cornea s-a retras din Consiliul Naţional al F.S.N." ("Doina Cornea has resigned from the National Council of the F.S.N."), ''[[România Liberă]]'', [[24 January]] [[1990]] </ref> She considered it to be dependent upon [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and still dominated by people with communist pasts. Together with intellectuals like [[Ana Blandiana]], [[Mihai Şora]] and [[Mircea Dinescu]], Cornea continued her outspokenness against the new regime of [[Ion Iliescu]], president of Romania until his defeat by [[Emil Constantinescu]] in the [[Romanian general election, 1996|1996 election]]. She was co-founder of the [[Democratic Anti-totalitarian Forum of Romania]] (''Forumul Democrat Antitotalitar din România''), as the first attempt to unify the democratic opposition to the post-communist government. This organization later transformed into the [[Romanian Democratic Convention]] (''Convenţia Democrată Română'', CDR), which brought Emil Constantinescu to power. Cornea was co-founder of [[The Group for Social Dialogue]] (''Grupul pentru Dialog Social'') in Romania, of the [[Civic Alliance Foundation]] and of the [[Cultural Memory Foundation]] (''Fundaţia Culturală Memoria''). ==Awards== She has received a great number of distinctions and prizes, the most important being: *[[Rafto Prize|Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize]] ([[Norway]], 1989) *[[Honorary degree|Doctor Honoris Causa]] of [[Free University of Brussels]] ([[Belgium]], 1989) *''Officier'' of the [[Legion of Honor]] ([[France]], 2000) *The High Cross of ''[[Steaua României]]'' ([[Romania]], 2000) ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornea, Doina}} [[Category:Romanian dissidents]] [[Category:Romanian Greek-Catholics]] [[Category:Romanian politicians]] [[Category:People of the Romanian Revolution of 1989]] [[Category:Babeş-Bolyai University faculty]] [[Category:Légion d'honneur recipients]] [[Category:Recipients of the Star of Romania Order]] [[Category:People from Braşov]] [[Category:People from Cluj-Napoca]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1929 births]] [[de:Doina Cornea]] [[hu:Doina Cornea]] [[no:Doina Cornea]] [[ro:Doina Cornea]] [[ru:Корнеа, Дойна]]