The 1st of December is a very important day for the Romanian nation. On December 1st, 1918, in Alba Iulia, delegations from around the country gathered to declare the Union of Transylvania with Romania. Although Alba Iulia is considered The city of the Great Unification, Arad played a very important role in achieving the union.
There have been other attempts to create a single country, uniting all the Romanian provinces (1600 – Mihai Viteazul; 1859 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza), but in 1918, the idea of a great union came to Vasile Goldis, a teacher and politician from Arad.
On November 2nd, 1918, the Central Romanian National Council (CRNC), a political organ of the Romanians in Transylvania, starts working. It consisted of 12 members, of which four were from Arad. CRNC was based in Arad, in Stefan Cicio-Pop’s house, one of the members of the Council who were living in Arad. The fight for Union was held in Arad. Between 13th-15th November, in Arad took place negotiations with the Hungarian Government delegations, which wished Transylvania to remain a Hungarian province. The Council refused and on 20th November announced the convening of the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia. The city of Alba Iulia was chosen because of the important historical events which took place there.
As a result of the struggle waged by the Council, on a Sunday, exactly 95 years ago, it was held the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, in which took place 1.228 deputies who voted unanimously the “Decision of Alba Iulia” the Union of Transylvania with the Romanian Kingdom!
We mention the following persons who lived in Arad and had major contributions to the Great Union:
Stefan Cicio-Pop (1865 – 1934) – lawyer, politician, member of the Parliament in Budapest, State Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Chamber of Deputies;
Vasile Goldis (1862 – 1939) – teacher, journalist, politician, member of the Romanian Academy;
Ioan Suciu (1862 – 1939) – lawyer, politician;
Ioan Flueras (1882 – 1953) – notary, politician;
Ioan Ignatie Papp (1848 – 1925) – Archbishop of Arad;
ROZ, Alexandru – Aradenii-coriei ai Marii Uniri, Editura Mirton Timisoara, Arad, 1995
Author – Eugen Rogojan