President of Romania 1996–2000,
President of the Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace
It is with deep sadness that I received the news of the passing of Academician Ionel Haiduc, President of the Romanian Academy from 2006 to 2014 and one of the great figures of contemporary Romanian science.
We have lost an exceptional scholar, a professor dedicated to training generations of researchers, a prestigious representative of the Romanian school of chemistry, and a man who well understood that the value of science is measured not only by the achievements of research, but also by its capacity to contribute to the development of society.
Ionel Haiduc was part of that generation of scientists and scholars who bore the responsibility of reestablishing Romanian research as part of the global scientific discourse. His scientific efforts, recognised both at home and abroad, coupled with his pioneering contributions to organometallic and supramolecular chemistry and with his university and academic work, have left an indelible mark on Romanian science.
Nevertheless, even beyond this impressive body of work, I shall always revere the memory of a man of exceptional intellectual and moral calibre, whose discretion and rigour naturally complemented his deserved authority.
I had the opportunity to bear first-hand witness to his deep concern for the future of Romanian research, as well as for the place that Romania should occupy in the scientific world. In 2000, I had the great honour of awarding him the National Order of the "Star of Romania" in the rank of Grand Officer, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of research and the advancement of Romanian science and technology.
In the years that followed, I was delighted to rediscover his undimmed dedication to knowledge and to the fundamental institutions of Romanian culture and science, throughout our extensive collaborations during his service as a member of the Scientific Council of the Levant Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace.
His death is a great loss to the Romanian Academy, to the "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca, to the Levant Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture of Peace, to the scientific community and to Romanian society as a whole. What he leaves behind, however, is a body of work that will continue to speak through his books, his research and, above all, through the generations of people he has mentored.
At this time of farewell, I extend my sincere condolences to the family of Academician Ionel Haiduc, as well to his colleagues and to all those who have held him in the highest regard.
May God rest his soul!
