Gheorghe Funar became well known for his very strong nationalist stance favouring ethnic Romanians in Cluj-Napoca, which is a relatively multi-ethnic city with an increasing ethnic Romanian majority and a significant ethnic Hungarian population.
11 Facts About Gheorghe Funar
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Gheorghe Funar was a candidate for the presidency for the Romanian National Unity Party in 1992 and 1996.
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Gheorghe Funar served as mayor of Cluj-Napoca from 1992 to 2004, when he was defeated in the first round of the mayoral election.
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Previously, Gheorghe Funar was the General Secretary of the Greater Romania Party.
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Gheorghe Funar is married to Sabina Funar, a professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca.
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Gheorghe Funar changed the label of the statue of Matthias Corvinus from Matthias Rex Hungarorum to just Matthias Rex.
7.
In September 1996, when Romania signed a friendship treaty with Hungary, Gheorghe Funar organized a funeral ceremony on the streets of Cluj-Napoca.
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Matthias Corvinus 8.
Between 1992 and 1993, Gheorghe Funar supported a large-scale Ponzi scheme run by Caritas, a company based in Cluj-Napoca.
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Gheorghe Funar helped Caritas build its credibility by renting space for it in the town hall, appearing with its owner in public and on television, and defending the company from attacks.
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Gheorghe Funar gave Caritas space in the local newspaper to list winners' names and lent the owner space at the local stadium to run his operations.
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Recently, Gheorghe Funar extended his xenophobic views to the Jewish minority, making unfounded statements: "The World's Jewish Government wants to move Israel into Romanian borders and is trying to exterminate Romanian people by using food additives" or "There are already more than 2 million Jews in Romania working for its destruction".