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

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 ...

n politician and educator.

Biography

She was born in

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

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

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

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 Romanian People's Republic. She served as Minister of Culture from 30 November 1953 to 19 March 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 a member of its Organizing Board in 1950) and from 1972 to 1974. She was given the title

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

in 1971. In the same year, she received the "

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: ) is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing wo ...

" gold medal. Crăciun was married to Ion Vincze, also a prominent member of the Communist Party. She died in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

at the age of 88.

Awards

* The title of

(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 și 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"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craciun, Constanta 1914 births 2002 deaths People from Constanța Members of the Great National Assembly Ministers of culture of Romania Romanian Communist Party politicians 20th-century Romanian women politicians Inmates of Văcărești Prison Women vice presidents Women's International Democratic Federation people