Anton Crihan (July 10, 1893 – January 9, 1993) was a

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

n politician, lawyer, author, economist, professor and journalist. He was a member of

Sfatul Țării ''Sfatul Țării'' ("Council of the Country"; ) was a council of political, public, cultural, and professional organizations in the guberniya, Governorate of Bessarabia in Russian Empire, Tsarist Russia. This became a legislative body which e ...

(1917), adviser to the Secretary of State for Agriculture in the General Directorate of the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

(1917), deputy in the

Parliament of Romania The Parliament of Romania () is the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate of Romania, Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament i ...

(1919, 1920, 1922, 1932), adviser to the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Domains (1932–1933), professor at the Polytechnic University of Iasi and at the Faculty of Agronomy in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

(1934–1940).

Biography

Anton Crihan is the representative of the thirteenth generation, male, of the old Moldavian

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

family, the first mention of the reign of

Stephen the Great Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...

. The Prince's Book of Constantine Movilă states that Anton Crihan's ancestors honored the boyar's title of "paharnic". He studied at the

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

High School for boys and the

University of Odessa The Odesa I.I.Mechnykov National University (), often referred to as Odesa National University ( ONU, ), located in Odessa, Odesa, Ukraine, is one of that country's major Public university, state-sponsored universities, named after the scientis ...

, Faculty of

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. Crihan served as Member of

(1917–1918), the

, and the

Government of Romania The Government of Romania () forms one half of the executive branch of the government of Romania (the other half being the office of the President of Romania). It is headed by the Prime Minister of Romania, and consists of the ministries, variou ...

. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the Communist revolution in Russia, Crihan, was among the handful of campaigners who succeeded in annexing most of

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

. He became politically active in Romania, which was then governed by a constitutional monarchy. Trained as an economist, he served on the Central Committee of the National Peasant Party, was elected to several terms in Parliament and was appointed Agriculture Minister. After the Soviet takeover, Crihan went into hiding and then fled on foot. He made his way across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

spending time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to complete a PhD in economics at the Sorbonne. He finally arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1949, where he delivered lectures and wrote articles and books championing the reunification of Moldavia and Romania. In the United States he married Olivia Lula, a niece of

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, now known as

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, gained independence when the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

disintegrated in late 1991. He died in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, United States, but to his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, he was buried in

(in the Central Cemetery).

Works

* ''Capitalul străin în Rusia'' (1915) * ''Chestiunea agrară în Basarabia'' (1917) * ''Cum s'a facut unirea Basarabiei cu România'' (1969) * ''O scrisoare catre Generalul C. Petre-Lazar'' (1976) * ''Romanian Rights to Bessarabia According to Certain Russian Sources'' (1986)

Honours

* Order Ferdinand I *

Steaua României The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the President ...

* A street in the center of Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, has been named after Anton Crihan.

Gallery

Image:Stamp of Moldova 227.gif, Moldovan stamp, 1998 Image:Sfatul Tarii, 10 December 1918.jpg,

Sfatul Țării Palace The Sfatul Țării Palace is a building in Chișinău, Moldova. Overview The building is located near Central Chișinău. It served as a meeting place for the Sfatul Țării, the assembly which proclaimed the independence of the Moldavian Democ ...

, December 10, 1918 Image:Anton Crihan's Grave.jpg, Anton Crihan's Grave in Chișinău

Bibliography

* Gheorghe E. Cojocaru, ''Sfatul Țării: itinerar'', Civitas, Chişinău, 1998, * Mihai Taşcă, ''Sfatul Țării şi actualele autorităţi locale'', "

Timpul de dimineaţă ''Timpul'' (Romanian language, Romanian for "The Time") is a literary magazine published in Romania. Originally a political newspaper, it was the official platform of the Conservative Party (Romania, 1880-1918), Conservative Party between 1876 an ...

", no. 114 (849), June 27, 2008 (page 16) * Eremia, Anatol (2001) (în română). Unitatea patrimoniului onomastic românesc. Toponimie. Antroponimie (ed. ediţie jubiliară). Chişinău: Centrul Naţional de Terminologie, ed. "Iulian". p. 57. . * Alexandru Chiriac. Membrii Sfatului Ţării. 1917–1918. Dicţionar, Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, București, 2001.

Notes

External links

Anton Crihan Dead; Moldova Exile, 99, Escaped Soviet Rule

Arhiva pentru Sfatul Tarii

Deputaţii Sfatului Ţării şi Lavrenti Beria

Biblio Polis – Vol. 25 (2008) Nr. 1 (Serie nouă)

2013 Postage stamp issued by the Republic of Moldova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crihan, Anton 1893 births 1993 deaths Romanian people of Moldovan descent Moldovan MPs 1917–1918 Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) People from Sîngerei District Odesa University alumni Moldovan economists 20th-century Romanian economists National Peasants' Party politicians Ministers of agriculture of Romania Moldovan anti-communists Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Romanian expatriates in France Romanian emigrants to the United States