Nicolae Gheorghe was a sociologist and one of the most important Roma activists in Europe. He dedicated his entire life to the struggle for the dignity and rights of the Roma, in Romania and internationally.
Key moments in his life
- 12 November 1946 – born in Roșiori de Vede, into a Roma family. His father was a goldsmith, and his mother came from the Vătrași and lăutari kin. At nine he moves with his family to Bucharest.
- 1968–1972 – studies philosophy and sociology at the University of Bucharest, graduating top of his class.
- He works at the Centre for Sociological Research. From 1974 he studies the situation of the Roma in Romania and learns the Romani language. His contacts with Western academia bring him investigations by the Securitate, and his research is stopped.
- 1982 – sends a letter about the situation of the Roma in Romania, under a pseudonym, to Radio Free Europe.
- 1990 – after the violence against Roma in Bucharest in June 1990, he persuades the OSCE to include Roma issues in its documents.
- 1993 – co-founds, with others, the Romani CRISS Association. He is one of the initiators of using the term “Roma” instead of “Gypsy”.
- 1999–2006 – is senior adviser on Roma issues at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. In 2003 he drafts the OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma.
- 8 August 2013 – dies at the age of 66.
Awards
- 1992 – Human Rights Prize of the French Republic
- 1993 – Bruno Kreisky Prize (Vienna) for human rights
- 1997 – Romani CRISS receives the European Union and United States Award for Human Rights and Democracy
Legacy
Dubbed by the press “the Martin Luther King of the Roma”, Nicolae Gheorghe changed the way Europe views the situation of the Roma. In Bucharest, the public space at the intersection of Sfinții Apostoli and dr. Raul Orleanu streets was named “Piața Nicolae Gheorghe”.