Romania loses symbolic figure
Romania's former king, Michael I, passed away on Tuesday, after battling cancer
Bogdan Matei, 06.12.2017, 14:03
An orphan country – this is how Romania feels after the death of its former sovereign, King Michael I. At a time of media overflowing with short-lived celebrities, the King was coming from an entirely different world and era. The last surviving World War II head of state, King Michael never ceased to believe in a moral, united and prosperous Romania, and lobbied with modesty and without wavering for Romanias NATO and European Union membership. On October 25, 2011, on his 90th birthday anniversary, he presented his political and moral legacy to the Parliament in Bucharest.
King Michael: “Democratic institutions are not governed only by laws and ethics. A sense of duty, love for the country and competence are the key criteria of public life. Have confidence in democracy, in the purpose of institutions and in their rules! The world of tomorrow cannot exist without morals, without faith and without memory. We must not allow cynicism, petty interests and cowardice control our lives.”
Michael I took the throne in September 1940, and for a long time his was a merely ceremonial role, with the pro-German strongman Ion Antonescu actually ruling the country. But on August 23, 1944, when the Red Army had already entered Romania and was threatening to wipe Bucharest off the map, the King had the courage to have Marshall Antonescu arrested, to break the countrys ties with the Axis and have Romania join the anti-Nazi coalition. Historians agree that this decision shortened the war by months, saving tens of thousands of lives.
Princess Margareta, the eldest of Michaels five daughters and named Custodian of the Crown, is determined to carry on his legacy. Princess Margareta:
“His kindness and forgiveness outshined all the evils of last century. His wisdom ensured the continuity of our identity, at times of grave deviation from the countrys natural course. Our King was a part of the very fabric of the Romanian state. With all his life, my father continued the ties of the royal family with the Romanian nation. He gave us his today for our tomorrow. A new era begins for the Royal House of Romania. With the same principles and sentiments as my father, I will continue to serve the fundamental interests of the Romanian nation. So help me God!”
The King was forced to abdicate and leave the country in 1947, when the country was ruled by a Soviet puppet government and was practically under Soviet military occupation. In order to survive in exile, the dethroned monarch did not hesitate to work. Until the 1989 anti-communist uprising in Romania, the political police, Securitate constantly monitored his life.
Driven out of the country at the age of 26, Michael was only allowed to return at 75. In a painful exercise of virtual history, many Romanians are now wondering what the country would look like today, if the King had not been ousted, and without the callous communist dictatorship and incoherent transition to democracy that followed. (Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)
