In the evening of September 23rd, at the Austrian Embassy residence in Bucharest, I received the Golden Medal of Honor of the Republic of Austria from her Excellency Ambassador Ulla Krauss-Nussbaumer. I’ll be honest: the news surprised even me.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Over the years I have attended many ceremonies like this one and watched people I admire receive the same distinction: Emil Hurezeanu, Steven van Groningen, Mariana Gheorghe, Alexandru Todericiu, Ioan Holander, Laurențiu Lupușor. To see my own name join theirs moves me more than I can easily say.
Naturally, I asked myself what might have led to this. Part of the answer lies in the years before and after Romania joined the European Union, when I worked on bringing the two countries’ economies closer together. Austria is not among Europe’s largest countries, yet it became one of the most important foreign investors in Romania. I was glad to play a part in that, but nobody achieves such things alone. My thanks go to Walter Friedl, the Austrian Economic Delegate, energetic and tireless, and to Radu Gilescu, lawyer, friend and partner in these efforts.
This honor also has a dimension that is even dearer to me. Since 2009 I have been President of the Romania–Austria Friendship Society, and I have tried, with perseverance and enthusiasm, to bring our two peoples closer through culture as well. That effort gave us the “Concert at the Imperial Court” at the Romanian Athenaeum, held around Austria’s National Day, and the Johann Strauss Festival, now in its 24th year. And I have one more dream: to revive the Vienna Ball, interrupted by the pandemic, and see it once again become a living symbol of Romanian–Austrian friendship.
None of this would have been possible without my family: my wife, who has stood by me all these years, our four children and the two who joined us through marriage. I have probably given them too little of my time, in my effort to make sure they wanted for nothing. Today I know that time together is the most precious gift. I thank my mother, who was by my side that evening, and my father, who is no longer with us but who I am sure was rejoicing with me. Part of this honour belongs to him.
My father was a distinguished linguist, regarded as one of the patriarchs of Romanian linguistics, and he taught me how much a language says about the soul of a people. We Romanians call our country the “patria-mamă”, the motherland. In German the word is “Vaterland”, the father’s land. So I said it plainly: Romania is and will always remain my motherland. Austria, which has given me friendship, trust and so many fulfilling experiences, is my fatherland!
Thank you to President Alexander Van der Bellen, who signed the decree, and to the Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor Gianpiero Gloder, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, whose presence was a blessing. Thank you to my confessor, Father Mihai Florian Dragomir. And my greatest thanks go to God. The most precious gift of all is the grace of serving Him as a priest.
I accept this Honor as a commitment: to keep building bridges between Romania and Austria, between people, cultures and generations. Honors stay in display cabinets, but bridges stay in hearts.
Thank God for everything! – Corneliu Teofil Teaha