Sorin Bottez (born Sorin-Mircea Bottez; 2 June 1930 – 31 July 2009) was a Romanian politician who stemmed from the
National Liberal Party (PNL). During the
post-war period
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
, he was vice-president of the
National Liberal Youth
The National Liberal Youth ( ro, Tineretul Național Liberal, TNL) is the youth organisation
The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socializatio ...
( ro, Tineretul Național Liberal).
Biography
Incarceration during Communism
Bottez was born in
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
,
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
. He was arrested by the Romanian
Communist authorities on 8 February 1949 (then only aged 18 and a half) on the grounds that he was part of the anti-Communist movement "Avram Iancu". At the time, Bottez was a student in the final year at
Mihai Viteazul High School Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela.
As a given name
* Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947
* ...
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 a trial held on 12 April 1949, he was sentenced to forced labour for 20 years.
Bottez was incarcerated at prisons in
Aiud
Aiud (; la, Brucla, hu, Nagyenyed, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Straßburg am Mieresch) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 22,876. It has the status of municipality and is the 2nd-largest c ...
,
Galați
Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...
,
Gherla
Gherla (; hu, Szamosújvár; german: Neuschloss) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 20,203. Three villages are ...
,
Jilava
Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava.
The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ' ...
,
Lugoj
Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank and t ...
,
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the western par ...
,
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...
, and
Târgșor
Târgșor is a former medieval market town in what is now Prahova County, Romania. The town peaked around 1600, after which it declined to become the village of Târgșoru Vechi, located about southwest of Ploiești.
History
Built in a heavil ...
.
Throughout his detention, he was reportedly tortured by the prison guards, and later declared he did not collude with the Communist system's
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
. He ended up serving 14 years, being released on 11 November 1963.
Academic career
Upon his release, he was admitted at the
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...
, in the Faculty of
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, ...
, which he successfully graduated five years later, in 1968. Subsequently, he became a professor of
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
and
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
at the university.
In post-1989 Romania
After the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...
of 1989, Bottez was also a member of the
People's Action
People's Action is a national progressive advocacy and political organization in the United States made up of 40 organizations in 30 states. The group's stated goal is to "build the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban ...
party (PP) of former
Romanian President
The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An in ...
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...
. He served as a deputy on behalf of the PNL for two years during the early 1990s, being elected for the constituency of Bucharest in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. In April 1992 he was named Ambassador of Romania to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
by then-President
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
, and served in this capacity until September 1994.
During the late 1990s, Bottez served as Minister Delegate for Public Information in the
CDR-led government of former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Victor Ciorbea
Victor Ciorbea (; born on 26 October 1954) is a Romanian jurist, politician, and civil/public servant. He was the Mayor of Bucharest between 1996 and 1997 and, after his resignation from this public dignity/position, Prime Minister of Romania fr ...
.
In 2007, Bottez was elected president of the Romanian branch of the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
. In 2008 he was elected President of the Association for Citizen Education.
He died in Bucharest one year later, and was buried at
Ghencea Cemetery
Ghencea Cemetery is located in Ghencea neighbourhood of Bucharest, on Ghencea Boulevard, in Sector 6. The cemetery has two sections, civilian and military. Notable interments
* Cabiria Andreian Cazacu, mathematician
* Gheorghe Argeșanu, gen ...
.
His memoirs, written in collaboration with Florin-Vasile Șomlea, were published posthumously.
References
See also
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottez, Sorin
1930 births
2009 deaths
People from Timișoara
Romanian activists
Prisoners and detainees of Romania
Romanian prisoners and detainees
University of Bucharest alumni
Inmates of Aiud prison
Inmates of Gherla prison
Inmates of Pitești prison
Academic staff of the University of Bucharest
National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Ambassadors of Romania to South Africa
Burials at Ghencea Cemetery