Neculai Constantin Munteanu (n. 16 November 1941,

Pufești Pufești is a commune located in Vrancea County, 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 ...

Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county (județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov (Siret), Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2 ...

) is 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 ...

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

. Through his shows on

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

he became known for condemning

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

's regime, which lasted until 1989. His shows were secretly listened to by millions of Romanians. After the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

, Munteanu hosted a show on Radio Free Europe titled "Eu și câinele meu, Securitatea" ("Me and my dog, the

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

").

Personal life

In February 2007, Neculai Munteanu revealed that he was gay on his radio show. He stated that, "I must say this because it is true and because I can now say it to people who are tolerant, from a European country, who have learnt that the person close to you can also be different from you, but still human".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munteanu, Neculai People from Vrancea County Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Romanian journalists Romanian dissidents Romanian gay writers Romanian LGBTQ journalists Gay journalists Living people 1941 births