Constanța Crăciun (16 February 1914 – 2 May 2002) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n politician and educator.

Biography

She was born in

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

. She studied literature and philosophy. She became a member of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wou ...

in 1935. She was arrested in 1942 and sentenced to 25 years in prison, serving time in the Văcărești and Mislea prisons before she was released in 1944. From 1948 to 1953, she was a member of the Great National Assembly of the

People's Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

. She served as Minister of Culture from 1953 to 1957 and, in 1959, became deputy minister of culture. From 1962 to 1965, she was president of the State Committee for Culture and Art. From 1965 to 1969, she was vice-president of the State Council. Crăciun was a member of the central committee of the Communist Party from 1945 to 1969 and from 1972 to 1974. She was given the title Hero of Socialist Labour in 1971. In the same year, she received the "

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industr ...

" gold medal. Crăciun was married to

Ion Vincze Ion Vincze (born Vincze János and also called Ion or Ioan Vințe; September 1, 1910 – 1996) was a Romanian communist politician and diplomat. An activist of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), he was married to Constanța Crăciun, herself a ...

, also a prominent member of the Communist Party.

Awards

* The title of Hero of Socialist Labour (4 May 1971) "on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Romanian Communist Party, for long activity in the labor movement and special merits in the work of building socialism in this country" * The golden medal "Secera şi ciocanul" (4 May 1971) "on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Romanian Communist Party, for long activity in the labor movement and special merits in the work of building socialism in the homeland"

Death

She died in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craciun, Constanta 1914 births 2002 deaths Members of the Great National Assembly Romanian Ministers of Culture Romanian Communist Party politicians 20th-century Romanian women politicians 20th-century Romanian politicians