Patriarch Miron Cristea, anti-Semitic Premier of Rumania, died here tonight of bronchial pneumonia. He was 71. Patriarch Cristea, chosen by King Carol to form a government in February, 1938, after the dissolution of Octavian Goga’s cabinet, carried out a revision of Jewish citizenships and the program of ousting the Jews from Rumania’s economic, political and cultural life which had been initiated by his predecessor, but along less radical lines.
The Patriarch had been Premier once before, in 1925, and was one of the three regents after the death of King Ferdinand in 1927. He attracted attention by a series of violent anti-Semitic statements in which he demanded expulsion of Jews from Rumania as “a plague” and charged they were “sucking the marrow from the nation’s bone.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
