Mihai Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, IL Caragiale...no, I'm not going to list the authors from the baccalaureate curriculum, but the names of the personalities that are on Romanian banknotes. Aurel Vlaicu, Nicolae Grigorescu, George Enescu, Nicolae Iorga... and yet no female names... until 2021 when a new banknote was put into circulation, the 20 lei banknote on which the face of the famous Ecaterina Teodoroiu appears. Why? Let's start with the beginning!

The history of Romanian banknotes

     The leu became the national currency of Romania through the Law for the establishment of a new monetary system and for the manufacture of national coins, adopted in 1867. Starting from 1880, the Romanian state conferred on the National Bank of Romania the exclusive privilege of issuing bearer bank notes (banknotes ). 

The pre-war period

The first paper currency notes are mortgage notes, issued according to the law of June 12, 1877, with nominal values of 5 lei, 10 lei, 20 lei, 50 lei, 100 lei and 500 lei, by the Ministry of Finance, to obtain the necessary funds the financial support of the War of Independence.

The interwar period and World War II

 After the First World War, the Romanian leu enters the slope of inflation due to the destruction of the Romanian economy in the war and the exchange of foreign money from the newly acquired territories. Inflation continued at a moderate pace during the interwar and World War II periods. On June 25, 1947, the 5,000,000 lei banknote was issued, these being the monetary signs with the highest denomination in the history of Romania.

The Communist period

 In 1952, the monetary reform takes place. In 1966, coins and banknotes were issued with the new name of the state: the Socialist Republic of Romania, remaining in circulation until after the Romanian Revolution of 1989. The old issues remain accepted for payment, but over time the unitary banknotes reduce their circulation. The faces of the following personalities appear on the banknotes from this period: Tudor Vladimirescu, Nicolae Bălcescu and Al. I. Cuza.

The post-revolutionary period

 New banknotes appear, following which the banknotes from the communist period quickly lose their value and practical utility and are officially withdrawn from circulation after 1992. Between 1991-1994, the faces of Constantin Brâncusi, Grigore Antipa, Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga were found on Romanian banknotes , and Avram Iancu, between 1996-2000 the faces of George Enescu, Lucian Blaga, Nicolae Iorga, Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Grigorescu. In 1999, a banknote with a nominal value of 2,000 lei was issued, which had a more commemorative character, being launched on the occasion of the total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. Between the years 2000-2003, new banknotes were issued on which appeared Nicolae Iorga, Nicolae Grigorescu, IL Caragiale, George Enescu and Aurel Vlaicu. It is worth noting that the 1,000,000 lei banknote entered the Book of Records - being the plastic banknote with the highest nominal value in the world.

at present

The Romanian leu is the new monetary unit of Romania. On July 1, 2005, the Romanian leu lost the last 4 zeros, by denomination. Since July 1, 2005, the following banknotes have been in circulation, each with the face of a famous personality: 1-Nicolae Iorga, 5 lei- George Enescu, 10 lei-Nicolae Grigorescu, 50 lei- Aurel Vlaicu, 100 lei- IL Caragiale, 200 lei - Lucian Blaga, 500 lei-Mihai Eminescu.

20 lei banknote

Finally, after so many years in which only male personalities were printed on Romanian banknotes, starting on December 1, 2021, the National Bank of Romania put into circulation a banknote with a face value of 20 lei, this being the first banknote with circulatory power on which a female personality is present: Ecaterina Teodoroiu. At the same time, the BNR mentioned in a press release that: "This is a response to the legitimate public interest, which has found wide support at the level of society, supporting the consolidation of gender equality and the major role of female personalities in history and society Romanian". According to him, the choice of the image of Ecaterina Teodoroiu has a double meaning: on the one hand, to support concerns for the consolidation of gender equality, in line with the initiatives of other central banks in the world, and on the other hand, to honor the image of a hero of the Great War of Reunification on the occasion of once again marking the centenary of Great Romania. 

Who was Ecaterina Teodoroiu?

Ecaterina Teodoroiu was a scout and participant in the First World War. Initially, she went to Bucharest to become a teacher, and there she contributed to the establishment of the first scout organizations in the country. However, after Romania's entry into the First World War, she worked as a nurse on the front in her native region. Out of a desire to avenge all four of her brothers who had died in the fighting, Ecaterina asked to be transferred to a combatant unit. She was taken prisoner, escaped and was wounded twice. In the hospital, she was decorated by the royal household and promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. From this position he participated in the battle of Mărășești, where he died commanding an infantry platoon. Celebrated as a national heroine after the war ended, her image was at first marginalized and then distorted by the communist regime.

Women on Banknotes Initiative

If we balance how many female and how many male personalities have appeared over time on Romanian banknotes, the disproportion is as obvious as possible, which is precisely why the "Women on Banknotes" initiative was launched in 2012. this consisting of a petition signed by over 7,000 Bucharest residents, which aimed to designate the first female personality to appear on a banknote issued by the BNR. 

               Among the female personalities mentioned in this petition who marked the history and culture of Romania are: Queen Maria, Ana Aslan (doctor), Ștefania Mărăcineanu (physicist), Sofia Ionescu (the first female neurosurgeon in the world), Ana Ipătescu (important role in the Revolution from 1848), Alexandrina Cantacuzino (leader of the Romanian feminist movement), Aurora Gruescu (the first female forestry engineer in the world), Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (the first female engineer in Europe), Cecilia Cuţescu-Storck (the first female university professor in art education from Europe), Sarmiza Bilcescu-Alimănişteanu (the first female doctor of law in the world), and, finally, Ecaterina Teodoroiu (heroine in the First World War), being the only one who managed to appear on a banknote .

              Later, in 2018, the journalist Janina Nectara launched a petition to the governor of the National Bank Mugur Isărescu, which aimed to launch the first Romanian banknote on which a woman appears. According to her, "Women on Banknotes" is an approach made with the aim of doing justice to the outstanding female personalities of Romania, who, through their innovations and professional achievements, not only made history in the country, but also marked international history, the historians being unfair to them because they mentioned them too little in texts that are not so familiar to the general public. This initiative was born with the objective of including women in the gallery of portraits that appear on Romanian banknotes with the aim of honoring them and paying tribute to them, thus, their indisputable merits being officially recognized.

Banknotes from around the world featuring female personalities

Great Britain - Queen Elizabeth II

Australia – Dame Nellie Melba-singer

New Zealand - Kate Sheppard - organizer of the Women's Rights Campaign

 Ukraine – Lesya Ukrainka – poet

conclusion

 It took so many years to finally have ONE woman on a banknote, and to summarize the whole article in a few words, all I can think of is the James Brown song that perfectly describes the society we live in "It's A Man's Man's Man's World”.         

Which female personality do you think should appear on Romanian banknotes?

source:

https://www.bnr.ro/page.aspx?prid=20196

https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecaterina_Teodoroiu

https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leu_rom%C3%A2nesc

https://www.femeipebancnote.ro/?page_id=374

Women and money: famous females on banknotes

Romania will have the first banknote on which the face of a woman appears from autumn. Ecaterina Teodoroiu, heroine in the First World War, will be depicted on a 20 lei banknote