Monument - Pantelimon Halippa - Alba Iulia

Pantelimon "Pan" Halippa (1 August 1883 – 30 April 1979) 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 and later

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 journalist and politician. One of the most important promoters of Romanian nationalism in Bessarabia and of this province's union with Romania, he was president of , which voted union in 1918. He then occupied ministerial posts in several governments, following which he underwent political persecution at the hands of the Communist régime and was later incarcerated in Sighet prison.

Biography

Halippa was born to the poor peasants Nicolae and Paraschiva Halippa in Cubolta, then in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and now in

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. ...

's Raionul Sîngerei. Married to the teacher Eleonora Circău, he had one son. His Chișinău home is preserved as a monument today.

Education

Pan Halippa attended primary school in his native village and then took courses at the Yedintsy Spiritual School and the Kishinev Theological Seminary. After graduating from seminary in 1904, he enrolled in the Faculty of Physics and Medicine of the University of Yuryev (today

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

), but a year later the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

broke out and he was forced to quit university. Back in Kishinev, he became involved with young Romanian intellectuals, working on '' Revista Basarabia'', the first

Romanian-language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...

publication in Bessarabia in that period. In its pages he printed the revolutionary hymn "

Deșteaptă-te, române! "" (; ) is the national anthem of Romania. It originated from a poem written during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. The lyrics were composed by Andrei Mureșanu and published during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, 1848 revolution, initiall ...

", which caused the Tsarist authorities to seek his arrest. Taking refuge in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, he enrolled in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

, where he took classes from 1908 to 1912. At this time he worked on the magazine ''Viața românească'', in which he published "Scrisori din Basarabia" ("Letters from Bessarabia"). In 1908, he published ''Pilde și novele'' ("Proverbs and Novels") in Chișinău (using

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

), the first Bessarabian fiction novel, while in 1912 "Basarabia, schiță geografică" ("Bessarabia, Geographic Sketch") appeared. Returning to Chișinău in 1913, he published, together with Nicolae Alexandri and with the assistance of Vasile Stroescu, the newspaper '' Cuvânt moldovenesc'', which he directed after April 1917. He wrote unceasingly in favour of union with Romania.

Political activity

Halippa's political activity intensified as the 1910s wore on and in 1917 he founded the Moldovan National Party. The year 1918 found him at the head of the unionist wave, for which he was elected first vice-president, then president of Sfatul Țării, the assembly which voted for the union of Bessarabia with Romania on 27 March 1918. He also took parts in the assemblies at

Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

and

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

(

Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia The Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia () was an assembly held on 1 December 1918 in the city of Alba Iulia in which a total of 1,228 delegates from several areas inhabited by ethnic Romanians declared the union of Transylvania with Romania. ...

), where, respectively, the acts of union of

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

with Romania were proclaimed. After 1918 he held a number of government posts: Minister and Secretary of State for Bessarabia (1919–1920), Minister of Public Works (1927), Minister of Public Works and Communications (1930) interim Minister of Work, Health and Social Protection (1930), Minister Secretary of State (1928–1930, 1932, 1932–1933),

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and deputy in

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(1918–1934). He was a member of the

National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...

after its founding in 1926. Throughout his time in office, Halippa sought to further Bessarabia's cultural development. He founded the

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 ...

Popular University (1917), the Moldovan Conservatory, the Society of Bessarabian Writers and Journalists and the Luceafărul Editorial Society and Bookstore in Chișinău (1940). In 1932 he edited and headed the magazine ''Viața Basarabiei'' ("Bessarabian Life") and the eponymous daily newspaper. In 1918 Halippa was chosen corresponding member of the Romanian Academy; removed in 1948, he was restored to its ranks posthumously in 1990. In 1950 he was arrested and imprisoned without trial at Sighet prison, in

Sighetu Marmației Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; or ''Siget''; , ; ; ), until 1960 Sighet, is a city in Maramureș County near the Iza River, in northwestern Romania. Geography Sighetu Marmației is situated along the Tisa river o ...

. Two years later he was handed over to the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, taken to Chișinău, tried and sentenced to 25 years' hard labour in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Brought back to Romania, he was held at

Aiud Aiud (; , , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 21,307 (2021). It has the status of municipiu. The city derives its name ultimately from Saint Giles (Aegidius), to whom t ...

until 1957.

Death

He 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 ...

in 1979 at the age of 95 and is buried in the cemetery of Cernica Monastery.

Gallery

Image:Bessarabia Sfatul Tarii arrest.jpg 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 ...

, 10 December 1918 Image:Stamp of Moldova 129.gif, Pan Halippa and

Image:Stamp of Moldova 045.jpg, His brother Ion Halippa (1871–1941)

Works

Halippa wrote over 280 poems, articles, sketches, translations and memorials, managing to edit a single volume of poetry during his lifetime: ''Flori de pârloagă'' ("Flowers of a Fallow Field", 1921, Iași), prefaced by

Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...

. He also wrote a few historical studies: ''Bessarabiâ do prisoedineniâ k Rossii'' ("Besarabia before Annexation to Russia") (Russian, 1914); ''Basarabia sub împăratul Aleksandr I (1812–1825)'' ("Bessarabia under Emperor Aleksandr I"), '' B. P. Hasdeu'' (1939). Posthumous works include ''Povestea vieții mele'' ("The Story of My Life", ''Patrimoniu'', Chișinău, 1990) and a volume of newspaper writings (2001). He also collaborated on the work ''Testament pentru urmași'' ("Last Will", 1991).

Bibliography

*Dorina N. Rusu, ''Membrii Academiei Române 1866-1999'', Editura Academiei Române, Bucharest, 1999 *Biblioteca Națională a Republicii Moldova,
Calendar Național. 2003

External links

Halippa's file at the Sighet Memorial

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halippa, Pan Romanian people of Moldovan descent Anti-Russification activists Inmates of Aiud prison People from Sîngerei District Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Romanian magazine editors Members of the Senate of Romania Inmates of Sighet prison Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) National Peasants' Party politicians University of Tartu alumni Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni 1883 births 1979 deaths National Moldavian Party politicians Moldovan MPs 1917–1918 Presidents of the Moldovan Parliament Deputy Presidents of the Moldovan Parliament Bessarabian Peasants' Party politicians Romanian journalists Romanian socialists Moldovan journalists Male journalists Ministers for Bessarabia Ministers of communications of Romania Ministers of public works of Romania Ministers of labor of Romania Ministers of health of Romania People extradited from Romania Romanian people imprisoned abroad People extradited to the Soviet Union Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Peasants' Party (Romania) politicians Romanian nationalists 20th-century journalists Burials at Cernica Monastery Cemetery