Marian Munteanu (born 19 June 1962, in Grădiștea, Comana, Giurgiu, Socialist Republic of Romania) is a former leader of the anti-government protests that took place in 1990 in Romania against the National Salvation Front (FSN). The anti-government protests were ended violently by the intervention of the miners from Jiu Valley (known as the first Mineriad). During the early 1990s, he was also the leader of the far-right political organization "Mișcarea pentru România" (The Movement for Romania).

At the same time, Munteanu was the leader of the Students' League, which was one of the organizers of the protests against Ion Iliescu's first rule in post-1989 Romania. On 14 June 1990, he was severely beaten. A miner was later imprisoned for attempted murder following witnesses' declarations that he had tried to kill Munteanu with an axe.[1][2] He was arrested and detained at Jilava Prison between June 18 and August 2, 1990.

As a leader of "Mișcarea pentru România" (defunct since 1996), he wrote several articles expressing his admiration for the Iron Guard, a local fascist movement active before World War II. Consequently, he has been condemned for anti-semitic discourse by various public figures, most notably literary critic Nicolae Manolescu.[3] In 2000, Munteanu was presented as a presidential candidate by the party led by Virgil Măgureanu, former Securitate officer and first head of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), though he eventually withdrew from the race.

As of 2011, he was teaching ethnology, anthropology, and folklore at the University of Bucharest.[2]

Munteanu returned to politics in 2016 after accepting PNL's proposal as candidate for mayor of Bucharest for that year's local elections. The proposal was regarded controversial, coming after the previous candidate, Ludovic Orban, was withdrawn as a result of his prosecution for corruption by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA).[4]

Munteanu has been accused of being a former collaborator of the Securitate, Nicolae Ceaușescu's secret police. He was approached by the secret police after he became a confidant of Petre Țuțea, with the purpose of keeping under surveillance the former anti-communist.[5]

Munteanu refused to sign an official proof of integrity document, as required of candidates for public positions. Several organizations and even the National Liberal Party (PNL) have filed official requests with the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS), to check the ties he might have had with the Securitate before 1989.[6][7][8] Following public outcry, the National Liberals decided to eventually drop him as party candidate.

Later in 2016, Munteanu created a new political movement in order to run in the year's elections for the Parliament.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Liviu Iolu (27 June 2005). "Ortacul care a incercat să-i ia capul lui Marian Munteanu". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 Carmen Dragomir (15 November 2011). "Marian Munteanu, fostul lider al "golanilor": "Să nu credeți că ăștia pe care-i vedeți la TV ne conduc"". jurnalul.antena3.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Nicolae Manolescu: Marian Munteanu a făcut declarații pro-legionare fătișe. Sunt nenumarate dovezile (Video)" [Nicolae Manolescu: Marian Munteanu made fake pro-legionary statements. There is plenty of evidence (Video)]. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Coincidență între înculparea lui Orban și candidatura lui Munteanu. Un candidat la primăria București aruncă bomba!" [Coincidence between the murder of Orban and Munteanu's candidacy. A candidate at the Bucharest City Hall throws the bomb!] (in Romanian). 14 April 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Mariana Iancu (20 April 2016). "Legătura lui Marian Munteanu cu Securitatea, avându-l ca țintă pe Petre Țuțea" [Marian Munteanu's connection with the Securitate, targeting Petre Ţuţea]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  6. ↑ Mihnea-Petru Pârvu (17 December 2011). "Marian Munteanu, omul care a dezamăgit o generație rebelă" [Marian Munteanu, the man who disappointed a rebellious generation]. Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  7. ↑ Ionel Dancu (17 April 2016). "Cum a ajuns Marian Munteanu candidatul fondatorului SRI, Virgil Măgureanu" (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "M. Munteanu refuză sa semneze declarația de integritate propusă de România Curată: Nu ma poate evalua oricine" (in Romanian). 19 April 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  9. ↑ Dinu, Clarice (9 August 2016). "Marian Munteanu își lansează oficial partidul. Cine va conduce Alianța Noastră până la Congres". Gândul (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
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