2020 in Romania

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See also:	Other events of 2020 History of Romania Timeline of Romanian history Years in Romania

Events from the year 2020 in Romania.

Incumbents

• President: Klaus Iohannis ^[1]
• Prime Minister: Ludovic Orban (until 7 December)  · Nicolae Ciucă (since 7 December until 23 December; acting)  · Florin Cîțu (since 23 December)
• President of the Senate: Teodor Meleșcanu (until 3 February) · Titus Corlățean (until 9 April; acting)  · Robert Cazanciuc (ro) (since 9 April until 20 December 2020; acting)  · Anca Dragu (since 21 December)
• President of the Chamber of Deputies: Marcel Ciolacu (since 29 May 2019 until 20 December 2020)  · Ludovic Orban (since 22 December)

Events

January

• 15 January – Romania's Day of National Culture (Romanian : Ziua Culturii Naționale) is celebrated by the Ministry of Culture at the Romanian Athenaeum with a gala concert performed by the Romanian Youth Orchestra, conducted by Gabriel Bebeșelea. Klaus Iohannis and Ludovic Orban attend the concert. Broadcasting starts at 18:30 EET on TVR1 and at 19:00 EET on Radio România Cultural. ^[2]
• 26 January – A xenophobic incident in Ditrău between two Sri Lankan workers and the local Hungarian population starts. ^[3]

February

• 5 February – The First Orban Cabinet was dissolved, after a no-confidence vote initiated by the PSD passed with 261 votes. ^[4]
• 21 February – Following a COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, the Romanian government announced a 14-day quarantine for citizens returning from the affected regions. ^[5]
• 22 February – The Romanian government announced several preventive measures including designation of five hospitals as isolation centers for new cases, purchase and placement of thermal scanners in international airports and specially designated lines for passengers coming from areas affected by COVID-19 outbreak. ^{[6] [7] [8] [5]}
• 25 February – New measures were imposed. Upon arrival on the Romanian territory, all asymptomatic travelers from the affected areas, respectively Hubei, the 11 localities in Italy, and any remaining passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship will go directly to the quarantine, for a period for 14 days. The other people coming from the Lombardy and Veneto regions will enter voluntary isolation at home for 14 days, upon arrival in Romania. ^[9]
• 26 February – The 1st case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania. ^[10]
• 28 February – The Romanian Orthodox Church suggested that followers use their own spoons and avoid the traditional kissing of icons in church. ^[11]

March

A nearly deserted Magheru Boulevard in Bucharest, 19 April

• No specific day – The xenophobic incident of Ditrău calms down and ends. ^[3]
• 2 March – More preventive measures were taken by the National Committee for Special Emergency Situations. Thus, citizens arriving from other provinces or cities in mainland China, other localities in Lombardy, Veneto or Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy, as well as areas and localities in South Korea and Iran not previously specified for institutionalized quarantine, enter 14 days of self-isolation at home immediately upon returning to Romania. ^[12]
• 16 March – The state of emergency was established in Romania for a period of 30 days, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Romania. The announcement was made by President Klaus Iohannis after the ceremony of forming the Second Orban Cabinet. ^[13]
• 22 March – First death caused by COVID-19 in Romania. ^[14]

May

• 15 May – The state of emergency imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic was lifted, being replaced with the state of alert. The national lockdown imposed almost two months ago was lifted as well, and the first set of relaxation measures took effect nationwide. ^[15]

September

• 27 September - 2020 Romanian local elections

November

• 14 November – Piatra Neamț hospital fire, 10 deaths. ^[16]

December

• 2 December – The first kilometers of controlled-access highway (16.2 km) in the historical region of Moldavia open near Bacău, part of the A7. ^[17]
• 6 December – 2020 Romanian legislative election
• 10 December – Bucharest was chosen to host the cybersecurity center of the European Union, from a list of cities that included Brussels, Munich, Warsaw, Vilnius, Luxembourg and León. It is the first EU agency hosted by Romania. ^[18]
• 23 December – The Cîțu Cabinet was formed. It is a coalition with PNL, USR-PLUS and UDMR as member parties, and is led by Florin Cîțu. ^[19]
• 25 December – Socola hospital fire, 1 death. ^{[20] [21] [22]}
• 27 December – Romania starts its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, under an effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, after the first 10,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived two days earlier via the Nădlac border crossing point on the A1 motorway, at the presence of Raed Arafat and Valeriu Gheorghiță in the area. ^[23]

Deaths

Further information: Category:2020 deaths and Deaths in 2020

Deaths
January  · February  · March  · April  · May  · June  · July  · August  · September  · October  · November  · December

January

Main article: Deaths in January 2020

• 5 January – Peter Wertheimer, 72, Romanian-Israeli flautist, saxophonist and clarinetist, cancer. ^[24]
• 18 January – Dan Andrei Aldea, 69, Romanian rock musician (Sfinx), heart attack. ^[25]

February

Main article: Deaths in February 2020

• 1 February – Ilie Bărbulescu, footballer (b. 1957) ^[26]
• 3 February – Aurel Șelaru, Olympic racing cyclist (b. 1935) ^[27]
• 4 February – Zwy Milshtein, 85, Romanian-born French painter. ^[28]
• 13 February – Herman Kahan, 93, Romanian-born Norwegian businessman and Holocaust survivor. ^[29]
• 14 February – Decebal Traian Remeș, economist and politician, Minister of Finance (b. 1949)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 25 February – Lívia Rusz, 89, Romanian-Hungarian graphic artist. ^[30]

March

Main article: Deaths in March 2020

• 20 March – Mikhail Voloshin, 66, Romanian-born American theoretical physicist, heart failure. ^[31]
• Gino Volpe, 77, Italian singer-songwriter, heart attack. ^[32]
• 22 March
  • Ciprian Foias, mathematician (b. 1933) ^[33]
  • Vintilă Mihăilescu, anthropologist (b. 1951) ^[34]
• 23 March – Júlia Sigmond, 90, Hungarian-Romanian puppet actress, COVID-19. ^[35]
• 24 March – Paul Goma, writer and dissident (b. 1935) ^[36]
• 26 March – Constantin Drăgănescu, actor (b. 1936) ^[37]
• 30 March – Martin Tudor, footballer (b. 1976) ^[38]

April

Main article: Deaths in April 2020

• 10 April – Olga Bucătaru, actress (b. 1942) ^[39]
• 12 April – Adrian Lucaci, footballer (b. 1966) ^[40]
• 24 April – Mircea Mureșan, film director (b. 1928) ^[41]

May

Main article: Deaths in May 2020

• 16 May – Constantin Radu, footballer (b. 1945) ^[42]
• 18 May – Cornel Georgescu, footballer and manager (b. 1955) ^[43]

June

Main article: Deaths in June 2020

• 9 June – Gigi Marga  [ ro ], singer (b. 1929) ^[44]
• 19 June – Dumitru Munteanu, footballer (b. 1932) ^[45]
• 25 June – Ionuț Popa, footballer (b. 1953) ^[46]
• 27 June – Mihai Romilă, footballer (b. 1950) ^[47]

July

Main article: Deaths in July 2020

August

Main article: Deaths in August 2020

• 1 August – Emil Ciocoiu, painter and photographer. ^[48]
• 10 August – Jacobo Langsner, 93, Romanian-born Uruguayan playwright. ^[49]
• 11 August – Oliviu Gherman, academic, politician, and diplomat. ^[50]
• 13 August – Richard M. Weiner, 90, Romanian-born German theoretical physicist. ^[51]
• 16 August – Viorica Ionică, Olympics handball player (1976). ^[52]
• 18 August – Gheorghe Dogărescu, Olympics handball player(1984). ^[53]
• 22 August – Emil Jula, footballer (Universitatea Cluj, Oțelul Galați, Energie Cottbus), heart failure. ^[54]

September

Main article: Deaths in September 2020

• 30 September – Eli Ruckenstein, 95, Romanian-born American physical chemist. ^[55]

October

Main article: Deaths in October 2020

• 10 October – Constantin Frosin, writer and translator (b. 1952) ^[56]
• 12 October – Ion Predescu, politician and magistrate (b. 1927) ^[57]
• 20 October – Yehoshua Blau, 101, Romanian-born Israeli literary scholar. ^[58]

November

Main article: Deaths in November 2020

• 1 November – Keith Hitchins, American historian and expert on Romanian history (b. 1931) ^[59]
• 5 November – Géza Szőcs, poet and politician (b. 1953)Géza Szőcs]], 67, Romanian-Hungarian poet and politician, secretary of state for culture (2010–2012), COVID-19. ^[60]
• 6 November – Constantin Dan Vasiliu, politician (b. 1951) ^[61]
• 7 November – Vasile Gherasim, politician (b. 1950) ^[62]
• 9 November – Virginia Bonci, Olympic track and field athlete (b. 1949) ^[63]
• 10 November – Vladimir Găitan, actor (b. 1947) ^[64]
• 18 November – Draga Olteanu Matei, actress (b. 1933) ^[65]
• 29 November – Viorel Turcu, footballer (b. 1960) ^[66]

December

Main article: Deaths in December 2020

• 31 December – Constantin Bosânceanu, footballer (b. 1966) ^[67]

See also

• 2020 in the European Union
• Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
• Romania at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

References

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24. Davis, Barry (7 January 2020). "Peter Wertheimer dies at 72 – playing with love". The Jerusalem Post . Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
25. "Cântărețul Dan Andrei Aldea, fost lider al formației Sfinx, a murit" [Dan Andrei Aldea, former lead singer of the Sfinx band, has died]. Digi24 (in Romanian). 19 January 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
26. 2020 in Romania at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
27. Archives, Cycling. "Aurel Selaru". www.cyclingarchives.com.
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29. "Tidligere Auschwitz-fange Herman Kahan er død" [Former Auschwitz prisoner Herman Kahan has died]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
30. Vincze, Miklós (26 February 2020). "Meghalt Rusz Lívia grafikus-képregényművész" [Graphic Artist Lívia Rusz has died]. 24.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
31. "In Memoriam, Mikhail Voloshin". Archived from the original on 31 August 2022.
32. "Basilicata. E' morto il maestro Gino Volpe". Basilicata24 (in Italian). 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020.
33. "Ciprian Foias July 20 1933 March 22 2020 (age 86)". 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.
34. "A murit profesorul și antropologul Vintilă Mihăilescu" [Professor and anthropologist Vintilă Mihăilescu has died]. Digi24 (in Romanian). 22 March 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022.
35. "Júlia Sigmond forpasis" [Júlia Sigmond has passed away] (in Esperanto). 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022.
36. "Scriitorul Paul Goma, ucis de coronavirus. Disidentul a murit într-un spital din Paris". digi24 (in Romanian). 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022.
37. Andrei, Otilia (27 March 2020). "Actorul Constantin Drăgănescu a murit. Avea 84 de ani" [Actor Constantin Drăgănescu has died. He was 84 years old]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022.
38. "Martin Tudor a murit la doar 43 de ani" [Martin Tudor has died at only 43 years old] (in Romanian). 30 March 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020.
39. Obretin, Ana (13 April 2020). "Doliu în lumea teatrului. Actriţa Olga Bucătaru a murit la vârsta de 78 de ani" [Mourning in the theatre world. Actress Olga Bucătaru has died at the age of 78]. Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 26 April 2022.
40. "S-a stins din viață Adrian Lucaci, președinte AJF Arad" [Adrian Lucaci, president of AJF Arad, passed away]. Romanian Football Federation (in Romanian). 12 April 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022.
41. Epure, Adrian (24 April 2020). "A murit regizorul Mircea Mureşan, rămas definitiv în memoria cinefililor datorită serialului "Toate pânzele sus"". Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022.
42. Lonel, Marius (16 April 2020). "A murit Constantin Radu I. Avea tumoare pe creier" [Constantin Radu has died. He had a brain tumour]. Jurnalul de Arges (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 16 May 2020.
43. Buz, Horzia (18 April 2020). "S-a stins un fost fotbalist reprezentativ al FC Bihor - A murit Cornel Georgescu" [Former representative footballer of FC Bihor has died - Cornel Georgescu has died]. Crișana (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 23 June 2020.
44. Nica, Elena (10 June 2020). "A murit legendara Gigi Marga. La 91 de ani, a supraviețuit pandemiei, dar... "o soartă nedreaptă a făcut să..."" [The legendary Gigi Marga has died. At age 91, he survived the pandemic, but... "O soartă nedreaptă a făcut să..."]. Cancan (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
45. Toma, Mihai (20 June 2020). "A murit Dumitru Munteanu, cel mai vârstnic supraviețuitor din generația de aur de la Petrolul Ploiești" [Dumitru Munteanu, the oldest survivor from the golden generation at Petrolul Ploiești, has died]. Libertatea (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
46. "Mărturisirea lui Marius Șumudică în momentul în care a aflat că Ionuț Popa a murit". DigiSport (in Romanian). 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
47. Mindea, Ovidiu (27 June 2020). "O nouă lovitură dură pentru fotbalul ieşean: s-a stins Romilă II" [A new hard blow for Iași football: Romilă II has died]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
48. "Emil Ciocoiu 13.09.1948 – 01.08.2020" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
49. "A los 93 años, murió Jacobo Langsner, el creador de "Esperando la carroza"" [At the age of 93 Jacobo Langsner, the creator of "Esperando la carroza", has died]. Infobae (in Spanish). 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022.
50. "A murit Oliviu Gherman, fost preşedinte al PSD" [Oliviu Gherman, former president of PSD, has died]. Digi24 (in Romanian). 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
51. Heatroth, Manfred (30 August 2020). "Physiker und Autor stirbt mit 90 Jahren" [Physicist and author dies at the age of 90]. Oberhessische Presse (in German). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022.
52. "A murit Viorica Ionică, fostul căpitan al echipei naționale de handbal a României din anii '80" [Viorica Ionică, former captain of the Romanian national handball team from the 80s, has died]. Dor de Neamt (in Romanian). 16 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022.
53. Otopeanu, Cristian (19 August 2020). "A murit fostul handbalist Gheorghe Dogărescu, medaliat cu bronz la Olimpiada din 1984" [Former handball player Gheorghe Dogărescu, a bronze medalist at the 1984 Olympics, has died]. Libertatea (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
54. "Ex-Cottbuser stirbt mit 40" [Ex-Cottbuser dies at 40]. Sport1 (in German). 22 August 2020. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022.
55. "Pioneering engineer Eli Ruckenstein dies at 95". UBNow. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021.
56. Cilincă, Victor (11 October 2020). "Ne-a părăsit cunoscutul traducător Constantin Frosin. Mult mai apreciat în străinătate decât acasă" [Well-known translator Constantin Frosin has left us. Much more appreciated abroad than at home]. Viața Liberă (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 24 August 2022.
57. Pecheanu, Gabriel (12 October 2020). "A murit Ion Predescu, fost judecător constituţional şi senator PSD, anunţă CCR" [Ion Predescu, former constitutional judge and PSD senator, has died, CCR announces]. Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
58. "חתן פרס ישראל פרופ' יהושע בלאו הלך לעולמו" [Israel Prize winner Prof. Yehoshua Blao has passed away]. Israel Hayom (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
59. "Keith Arnold Hitchins". News-Gazette . 15 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021.
60. Ferenc, Szalma (5 November 2020). "Meghalt Szőcs Géza" [Géza Szőcs has died]. Telex.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 23 April 2022.
61. Bujor, Elena Nicoleta (6 November 2020). "Doliu în politica ieşeană! Dan Constantin Vasiliu, fostul senator de Iaşi, a murit" [Mourning in Iesa politics! Dan Constantin Vasiliu, former senator from Iasi, has died]. Bună Ziua Iași (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 13 November 2020.
62. "A murit Vasile Gherasim, consilier de conturi în cadrul Curţii de Conturi a României şi fost primar al Sectorului 1" [Vasile Gherasim, accountant advisor at the Romanian Court of Accounts and former mayor of Sector 1, has died]. Agerpres (in Romanian). 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022.
63. "Doliu în lumea atletismului românesc! O fostă campioană a încetat din viață" [Mourning in the world of Romanian athletics! A former champion has passed away]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022.
64. "Actorul Vladimir Găitan a încetat din viață pierzând lupta cu cancerul" [Actor Vladimir Gaitan has passed away after losing his battle with cancer]. HotNews (in Romanian). 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022.
65. "UPDATE - Actriţa Draga Olteanu Matei a încetat din viaţă / "E prea frumoasă viaţa pe pământ. Mă bucur de fiecare lucru", spunea ea" [UPDATE - Actress Draga Olteanu Matei has passed away / "E prea frumoasă viaţa pe pământ. Mă bucur de fiecare lucru", she said]. News.ro (in Romanian). 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022.
66. "A murit Voirel Turcu! Helmut Duckadam, cu ochii plini de lacrimi: "Șunt șocat! Vorbisem să ne vedem la un ceaun!"" [Viorel Turcu died! Helmut Duckadam, with tearful eyes: "Șunt șocat! Vorbisem să ne vedem la un ceaun!"]. Digi Sport (in Romanian). 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022.
67. Dobrea, Vlad (31 December 2020). "Fostul fundaş Constantin Bosânceanu s-a stins la doar 54 de ani" [Former defender Constantin Bosânceanu has died at only 54 years old]. Stirile Pro TV (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2022.

External links

• Media related to 2020 in Romania at Wikimedia Commons