100 greatest Romanians

In 2006, the Romanian Television (Televiziunea Română, TVR) conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considers the 100 greatest Romanians of all time, in a version of the British TV show 100 greatest Britons. The resulting series, "Great Romanians" ("Mari Români"), included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate. On October 21st, TVR announced that the "greatest Romanian of all time" according to the voting was Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great).

1-100

#Stefan cel Mare (c. 1433 – 1504), "Stephen the Great"
#Carol I (1839 – 1914) - "the first Romanian ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty (1866 - 1914), the first King of Romania (since 1881) after the country acquired full independence under his leadership"
#Mihai Eminescu (1850 – 1889) - "late Romantic poet, widely considered to be the most influential Romanian poet"
#Mihai Viteazul (1558 – 1601) - "Prince of Wallachia, he achieved the first union of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia (the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians)"
#Richard Wurmbrand (1909 – 2001) - "evangelical Christian minister, author and educator who spent a total of fourteen years in communist prison"
#Ion Antonescu (1882 – 1946) - "the prime minister and leader of Romania during World War II"
#Mircea Eliade (1907 – 1986) - "researcher and professor of the history of religions, Orientalist and novelist"
#Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1820 – 1873) - "the first ruler of the United Principalities of Romania after the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859; his reforms started the modernization of Romania"
#Constantin Brâncuşi (1876 – 1957) - "famous modern sculptor"
#Nadia Comăneci (1961 – ) - "gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event"
#Nicolae Ceauşescu (1918 – 1989) - "last communist president of Romania"
#Vlad Ţepeş (1431 – 1476) - "Prince of Wallachia"
#Gigi Becali (1958 – ) - "politician and businessman, football club owner"
#Henri Coandă (1886 – 1972) - "inventor and aerodynamics pioneer"
#Gheorghe Hagi (1965 – ) - "football player"
#Ion Luca Caragiale (1852 – 1912) - "playwright and short story writer"
#Nicolae Iorga (1871 – 1940) - "historian, writer, and politician"
#Constantin Brâncoveanu (1654 – 1714) - "Prince of Wallachia"
#George Enescu (1881 – 1955) - "composer and musician"
#Gregorian Bivolaru (1952 – ) - "founder of MISA yoga organization"
#Mirel Rădoi (1980 – ) - "football player"
#Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899 – 1938) - "leader of a Romanian nationalist movement during the 30s"
#Nicolae Titulescu (1882 – 1941) - "diplomat, president of the League of Nations"
#Ferdinand I of Romania (1865 – 1927) - "King of Romania during World War I"
#Mihai I (1921 – ) - "last King of Romania before communist period"
#Decebal (87 – 106) - "last King of Dacia before Roman conquest"
#Traian Băsescu (1951 – ) - "politician, President of Romania
#Gheorghe Mureşan (1971 – ) - "NBA basketball player"
#Ion I. C. Brătianu (1864 – 1927) - "liberal politician, Prime Minister of Romania for five terms"
#Răzvan Lucescu (1969 – ) "football player and football club manager"
#Nicolae Paulescu (1869 – 1931) - "physiologist, the discoverer of insulin"
#Iuliu Maniu (1873 – 1953) - "politician"
#Iuliu Hossu (1885 – 1970) - "Greek-Catholic bishop, victim of the communist regime"
#Emil Cioran (1911 – 1995) - "philosopher, writer, and essayist"
#Avram Iancu (1824 – 1872) - "leader of the 1848 revolution in Transylvania"
#Burebista (? – 44 BC) - "King of Dacia"
#Regina Maria (1875 – 1938) - "Queen of Romania"
#Petre Ţuţea (1902 – 1991) - "philosopher, victim of the communist regime"
#Corneliu Coposu (1914 – 1995) - "politician, victim of the communist regime"
#Aurel Vlaicu (1882 – 1913) - "inventor, aviation pioneer"
#Iosif Trifa (1888 – 1938) - "Eastern Orthodox priest, founder of the "Oastea Domnului" ("Lord's Army") Christian organisation"
#Nichita Stănescu (1933 – 1983) - "poet and essayist"
#Ion Creangă (1837 – 1889) - "writer"
#Mădalina Manole (1967 – ) - "pop singer"
#Corneliu Vadim Tudor (1949 – ) - "strongly nationalistic politician, writer and journalist; founder and leader of the Greater Romania party"
#Traian Vuia (1872 – 1950) - "inventor, aviation pioneer"
#Lucian Blaga (1895 – 1961) - "poet, playwright, and philosopher"
#George Emil Palade (1912 – ) - "cell biologist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1974)"
#Ana Aslan (1897 – 1988) - "biologist, physician and inventor, the author of essential research in gerontology"
#Adrian Mutu (1979 – ) - "football player"
#Florin Piersic (1936 – ) - "theater and film actor"
#Mihail Kogălniceanu (1817 – 1891) - "politician and historian, first Prime Minister of the United Principalities of Romania"
#Iancsi Korossy (1926 – ) - "jazz player"
#Dimitrie Cantemir (1673 – 1723) - "Prince of Moldavia and prolific man of letters"
#Ilie Năstase (1946 – ) - "tennis player"
#Gheorghe Zamfir (1941 – ) - "musician, pan flute player"
#Gică Petrescu (1915 – 2006) - "musician, folk and pop music composer and singer"
#Elisabeta Rizea (1912 – 2003) - "anti-communist partisan"
#Bulă ("fictional") - "the main character of Romanian jokes"
#Amza Pellea (1931 – 1983) - "theater and film actor"
#Matei Corvin (1443 (?) – 1490) - "King of Hungary"
#Mircea cel Bătrân (1355 – 1418) - "Prince of Wallachia"
#Titu Maiorescu (1840 – 1917) - "literary critic and politician"
#Toma Caragiu (1925 – 1977) - "theater and film actor"
#Mihai Trăistariu (1979 – ) - "pop singer"
#Andreea Marin (1974 – ) - "TV show host"
#Emil Racoviţă (1868 – 1947) - "biologist, speleologist and explorer of Antarctica"
#Victor Babeş (1854 – 1926) - "biologist and early bacteriologist, one of the founders of microbiology"
#Nicolae Bălcescu (1819 – 1852) - "leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution"
#Horia-Roman Patapievici (1957 – ) - "writer and essayist"
#Ion Iliescu (1930 – ) - "first President of Romania after the 1989 revolution"
#Marin Preda (1922 – 1980) - "novelist"
#Eugen Ionescu (1909 – 1994) - "playwright, one of the initiators of the theatre of the absurd"
#Dumitru Stăniloae (1903 – 1993) - "Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian"
#Alexandru Todea (1905 – 2002) - "Greek-Catholic bishop, victim of the communist regime"
#Tudor Gheorghe (1945 – ) - "singer and theater actor"
#Ion Ţiriac (1939 – ) - "tennis player and businessman
#Ilie Cleopa (1912 – 1998) - "Eastern Orthodox archimandrite"
#Arsenie Boca (1910 – 1989) - "Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian, victim of the communist regime"
#Bănel Nicoliţă (1985 – ) - "football player"
#Dumitru Cornilescu (1891 – 1975) - "Eastern Orthodox, then Protestant priest, translated the Bible into Romanian in 1921"
#Grigore Moisil (1906 – 1973) - "mathematician and computing pioneer"
#Claudiu Niculescu (1976 – ) - "football player"
#Florentin Petre (1976 – ) - "football player"
#Marius Moga (1981 – ) - "pop music composer and singer"
#Nicolae Steinhardt (1912 – 1989) - "writer"
#Laura Stoica (1967 – 2006) - "pop and rock singer, composer and actress"
#Cătălin Hâldan (1976 – 2000) - "football player"
#Anghel Saligny (1854 – 1925) - "engineer"
#Ivan Patzaichin (1949 – ) - "flatwater canoer who won seven Olympic medals"
#Maria Tănase (1913 – 1963) - "traditional and popular music singer"
#Sergiu Nicolaescu (1930 – ) - "film director, actor and politician"
#Octavian Paler (1926 – 2007) - "essayist"
#Eroul Necunoscut - the Unknown Hero
#Ciprian Porumbescu (1853 – 1883) - "composer"
#Nicolae Covaci (1947 – ) - "founder of the Pasărea Phoenix rock band"
#Dumitru Prunariu (1952 – ) - "first Romanian cosmonaut"
#Iancu de Hunedoara (c. 1387 – 1456) - "Voivode of Transylvania, captain-general and regent of the Kingdom of Hungary"
#Constantin Noica (1909 – 1987) - "philosopher and essayist"
#Badea Cârţan (1849 – 1911) - "a shepherd who fought for the independence of the Romanians of Transylvania (then under Hungarian rule inside Austria-Hungary)"

Worst Romanians

"Evenimentul Zilei" also conducted a poll about the worst Romanians ("Amari Români" - "bitter Romanians", a pun on "Mari" - "greatest") and the results were:

#Ion Iliescu "(the first president after 1989)"
#Nicolae Ceauşescu "(the last communist president before December 1989)"
#Gigi Becali "(controversial businessman, party leader and chairman of the football club Steaua Bucharest)"
#Adrian Năstase "(the Prime Minister of Romania between 2000 and 2004)"
#Carol II "(King of Romania between World Wars)"
#Mihai I "(the last King of Romania)"
#Traian Băsescu "(president of Romania, elected in 2004)"
#Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej "(first communist leader of Romania, after World War II)"
#Elena Ceauşescu "(Nicolae Ceauşescu's wife and #2 in the Romanian communist government until December 1989)"
#Sorin Ovidiu Vântu "(a controversial businessman)"

External links

* [http://www.mariromani.ro/primapagina.php mariromani.ro]
*"Evenimentul Zilei", [http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=264808 Ion Iliescu, "pelinul" romanilor]