Andrei Marga (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈdrej ˈmarɡa]; born 22 May 1946) is a Romanian philosopher, political scientist, and politician. Rector – for the second time – of the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, he was a member of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNŢCD), serving as Minister of Education in the Democratic Convention (CDR) coalition governments of Victor Ciorbea, Radu Vasile, and Mugur Isărescu (1997–2000). In January 2001, he replaced Ion Diaconescu as PNŢCD president, but resigned from this position in July 2001, amid political tensions within the party. He subsequently formed a new political party, more specifically the Popular Christian Party later during the same year.[1] Later on, he became a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL).
Marga has authored many volumes on political science, political philosophy, and the philosophy of history. His work touches a variety of subjects, including the philosophical theories of Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas, the nature of positivism, and trends in contemporary philosophy.[2] He has also lectured on specific subjects, such as the philosophic foundations of transition from Communism to a market economy, and the evolution of principles guiding European integration.[2] In later works, he approached topics pertaining to the philosophy of religion, and to the status of religion in the age of globalization.[2] In 2005, Andrei Marga received the Herder Prize in recognition of his contributions.[2]
Biography
Marga was born in Bucharest, attended the University of Cluj and also had a one-year scholarship at the University of Freiburg (West Germany).[3][4] In 1993, he became rector of the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca.
As minister, Andrei Marga promoted educational system reform, stressing that the communist legacy had contributed to a rise in political corruption, and indicating that Romanian education lacked staples of professionalism such as underlined purposes, standards in certification, and evaluation criteria.[5] Marga also criticized the system for relying on "original features" and "Romanian traditions", which had been explained as a means to promote national development, but, in effect, had contributed to the gap between Romania and the Western world.[5] He called for modernization, and defined his goals as "increasing the links between education and the economic, administrative and cultural environment, improving the educational infrastructure, eliminating paternalism and populism from educational management, and enhancing international cooperation in education".[5]
The program was criticized by the political opposition, who argued that the system in place was satisfactory, and blamed the existing problems on the post-1989 political and social climate.[6] In parallel, supporters of reform were dissatisfied with its slow pace and inadequate financing.[7]
In early 1998, a controversy erupted in Romanian politics, after the CDR announced that it was planning to stand by the plan to set up separate universities for the Hungarian minority.[8] The decision was in turn based on a promise made to their coalition partner, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).[8] In this context, Marga took the middle ground, saying that he supported separate Hungarian-language sections but not separate institutions (a similar view was expressed by the CDR's other coalition partner, the Democratic Party).[8]
Marga joined the PNŢCD in 1999, and became its leader two years later. Party rules prohibited members with less than five years in the party from running for party president. During the party's congress, a few candidates resigned in support of Marga and the party's constitution was amended to allow Marga to run. Marga defeated his conservative opponents with the support of the congress in spite of opposition from the party hierarchy. He was brought in to reform the party and position it to recover from the losses of the December 2000 election. His tenure failed to bring in the rapid changes desired and opposition from prominent conservative elements in his party stifled his ideas. He resigned in July 2001.[9]
In 2002, Marga joined the PNŢCD's former coalition partner, the National Liberal Party (PNL). From May to August 2012, Marga served as Foreign Minister in the government of Victor Ponta.
Later, information spread that Marga was an informant for Securitate, the secret police of the Socialist Republic of Romania. He tried to deny it but lost the case in court.[10][11][12]
In September 2022, Marga claimed that Ukraine's borders are "unnatural" and that Ukraine should cede its territories to its neighbors, Romania, Russia, Poland and Hungary.[11][13]
