Relatives, people of culture, friends and state officials bid farewell to actor and stage manager Ion Ungureanu, who was minister of culture in 1990-1994. The farewell ceremony was held at the National Palace “Nicolae Sulac”.
Priest Petru Buburuz said he was connected with Ion Ungureanu by the same ideals – nation and Romanian church. Being minister of culture, Ion Ungureanu, together with the then Minister of Education Nicolae Matcas, opened the Faculty of Theology. In the period when Ion Ungureanu was minister, the first churches with the inscription “Romanian Orthodox Parish” appeared in Moldova. Ion Ungureanu was a real son and hero of the nation, being a tall and handsome man like an oak tree.
Nicolae Misail, a member of Moldova’s first Parliament, said he first saw Ion Ungureanu on the stage of
“Luceafarul” Theater. The cooperation between the two continued in the first legislative bodies and within the Association “Parlamentul 90”, of which they both formed part. Nicolae Misail noted he cannot find a word to characterize Ion Ungureanu as there is no such word in the dictionary.
Sergiu Prodan, chairman of the Filmmakers Union of Moldova, said he was Ion Ungureanu’s pupil and this was his teacher. He expressed his disappointment at the fact that there are politicians who gain political dividends based on the Romanian sentiment or Romanophobia.
The farewell ceremony also involved Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu. He said that Ion Ungureanu was a great name, including among politicians. “He was a big man in a small country,” he stated, adding that he remembers Ion Ungureanu as the one who read the Declaration of Independence in the Great National Assembly Square and as the man who brought back Stephan the Great and Holy to the forefront.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip also regretted the loss, saying Ion Ungureanu was a great man of culture who struggled for the national ideals. “Death cannot beat him because this remains his masterwork,” he stated.
Minister of Culture Monica Babuc said the demise of Ion Ungureanu is an irrecoverable loss for the Moldovan culture and people. Ion Ungureanu was a man of spirituality and the inheritance he left is inestimable and should be taken care of.
Ion Ungureanu was born in Opaci village, currently Causeni district, on August 2, 1935. He studied philology at the State Teacher Training University “Ion Creanga” in Chisinau and then at the Theater School “B. Shchukin” in Moscow, from where he returned in 1960. In 1958, Ion Ungureanu made his debut as a film actor in the role of Boris Gradinaru in the movie “When the man is not at his place”. This was the first feature film made at “Moldova-film” Studio. He acted in 25 films made at “Moldova-film” and “Mosfilm”. He worked as an actor and stage manager at the Central Television in Moscow. In 1991, he served as Minister of Culture and Cults of Moldova. Ion Ungureanu took part in the events to revitalize the national conscience, being the one who read the Declaration of Independence at the Great National Assembly. In 1990, he entered Moldova’s first Parliament. Between 1995 and 2005, he served as vice president of the Romanian Cultural Foundation in Bucharest.
In recognition for his activity, Ion Ungureanu was conferred the honorific titles of Emeritus Master of Arts of the Russian Federation, the People’s Artist of the Republic of Moldova, State Award Laureate, Knight of the Order of the Republic, Doctor Honoris Causa of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, etc.
The actor will be buried at the Central Cemetery located on Armeneasca St in Chisinau.
