27 Facts About Neagu Djuvara

Djuvara's uncles Trandafir and Alexandru Djuvara were notable public figures.

Neagu Djuvara was born during World War I; as an infant, he was taken by his family into refuge in Iasi after the occupation of southern Romania by the Central Powers, and then, through Imperial Russia, into Belgium, where Trandafir Neagu Djuvara was Minister Plenipotentiary.

Neagu Djuvara attended lycee in Nice, France, and graduated in Letters and Law from the University of Paris.

Neagu Djuvara later stated that, at the time, his political sympathies veered towards the far right: he became a supporter of the Romanian fascist movement, the Iron Guard, and took part in the February 1934 riot against the French Radical-Socialist government of Edouard Daladier.

Neagu Djuvara joined the Romanian Armed Forces and was stationed in Ploiesti under the Iron Guard's National Legionary government.

Neagu Djuvara stated that he gave up his interest in the far right after a 1943 dialog with fellow diplomat Victor Radulescu-Pogoneanu, who convinced Djuvara to become "a supporter of parliamentary democracy".

Subsequently, Neagu Djuvara decided to apply for office in the diplomatic corps, won the competition, and was sent by Foreign Minister Mihai Antonescu as a diplomatic courier to Sweden, on the very day Ion Antonescu was toppled by a coup d'etat and Romania pulled out of the Axis Powers to join the Allies.

Furthermore, Neagu Djuvara indicated, "Neither I nor Nanu were mandated to sign any document, to launch into any peace process".

Neagu Djuvara left for Paris and was involved in advocacy of anti-communist political causes and the rallying of exiled intellectuals.

Briefly employed by the International Refugee Organization, Neagu Djuvara became involved with the body of Romanian exiles, the Romanian National Committee, and helped organize American-assisted drops of voluntary paratroopers in support of the Romanian anti-communist resistance.

Neagu Djuvara renounced his position by 1951, and subsequently worked for the exile magazine Casa Romaneasca.

Neagu Djuvara was an acquaintance of President Hamani Diori, and notably accompanied him on official duty to Addis Ababa, attending the opening session of the Organisation of African Unity.

Neagu Djuvara was later awarded a diploma in Philology from INALCO.

Neagu Djuvara was an active contributor to Radio Free Europe, and divided his time between Paris and Munich.

Neagu Djuvara returned to his native country soon after the Romanian Revolution of 1989.

Neagu Djuvara later joined the National Liberal Party, and expressed his concern that President Traian Basescu was unable to complete planned reforms in the wake of Romania's accession to the European Union, as well as his belief that the former Securitate was still in a position of power.

Neagu Djuvara took a conservative stance on European affairs, being a vocal critic of Europe's multiculturalism.

Neagu Djuvara died from pneumonia in Bucharest on 25 January 2018, at the age of 101 years and 147 days, and was buried at Bellu Cemetery.

Neagu Djuvara's views were often seen as undermining a Romanian national identity, mainly because of his expressing doubts on the scientific accuracy of most historic research done in Romania since the unification of 1918, and putting forward controversial hypotheses concerning the origin of the Romanians, such as advancing the theory that the vast majority of the nobility in the medieval states that made up the territory of modern-day Romania was of Cuman origin.

Neagu Djuvara published extensively regarding the relationship between his native Romania and Europe, placing the country politically and culturally "between East and West", citing it as the "last to enter what is commonly called the European concert", referring not to Romania's 2007 accession to the European Union, but to the country's change of orientation towards adopting a Western political and cultural model.

Neagu Djuvara has voiced his concern regarding multiculturalism in Europe, a policy which he views as detrimental to stability within the EU.

Neagu Djuvara was a critic of what he perceived to be an excessively pro-Western attitude in Romanian politics, suggesting that Romanian society and culture could not be classified as Western, citing Orthodoxy as the predominant religion, the presence of many non-Latin elements in the modern Romanian language and the country's history in the past centuries as arguments.

Neagu Djuvara wrote about what he called the "American hegemony" and its premises, analysing the influence which the United States and its foreign policy have had on the world and, more specifically, on Europe.

Neagu Djuvara characterised the efforts of the United States to establish what resembles a hegemony in Europe and other parts of the world as a "Seventy-Seven Years' War" waged throughout most of the 20th century.

Neagu Djuvara can be seen as a populariser and "de-mystifier" of history, having published books aimed a younger audience as well as books seeking to explain the historical basis for mythical figures such as Dracula or Negru Voda.

Neagu Djuvara published memories from his exile, recounting his life and work in Paris, France, and Niamey, Niger.

Neagu Djuvara has claimed that Romanian marshal Ion Antonescu, who ruled Romania during World War II, was in fact an Albanian of Romania or, as he called him, an.