Aurica Bojescu

Aurica Bojescu
Born(1961-01-06)6 January 1961
Karapchiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
OccupationsLawyer, minority rights activist, politician
AwardsBadge "Excellent Teacher of Ukraine"
Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of "Knight" (2025)

Aurica Bojescu (born 6 January 1961; Ukrainian: Ауріка Василівна Божеску, romanized: Aurika Vasylivna Bozhesku[1]) is a Ukrainian lawyer, minority rights activist and politician of Romanian ethnicity. She is a representative of the Romanian community in Ukraine, being an advocate for minority rights for the ethnic minorities of the country. Bojescu also contributed to the drafting of the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine, was a member of the Chernivtsi Oblast Council during four legislatures and worked as an assistant for Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) members for over a decade. She is a recipient of the Excellent Teacher badge from Ukraine's education ministry as well as Romania's Order of Cultural Merit.

Biography

Aurica Bojescu was born on 6 January 1961 in the village of Karapchiv (Romanian: Carapciu or Carapciu pe Siret), in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (now Ukraine).[1] She is an ethnic Romanian,[2] living in the town of Hlyboka (Adâncata) as of 2026. Having completed a Master of Public Administration,[1] Bojescu is a lawyer, being one of the specialists that participated in the redaction of the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine.[2][3] Having been elected for four different legislatures,[1] she was a member of the Chernivtsi Oblast Council from 1998 to 2014, serving affiliated to the Party of Regions from 2006 to 2014.[4] From 2006 to 2019, she worked as an assistant consultant for members of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) from Chernivtsi Oblast's constituencies,[1] having also worked as an assistant for Odesa Oblast parliament member Eduard Matviychuk.[5]

Bojescu is a specialist in the field of education, in particular from the perspective of the national minorities in Ukraine. Having more than 25 years of teaching experience as of 2026, she is a recipient of the Excellent Teacher badge awarded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.[1] In 2005, Bojescu published Situația minorităților românești din Ucraina ("Situation of the Romanian Minorities of Ukraine"), a study on the Romanians in Ukraine.[6]

Bojescu has often acted as a representative for the Romanian minority in the region of Northern Bukovina,[7][8] having represented the Romanian community in Ukraine in negotiations with the Ukrainian education ministry.[9][10] She has actively protested against the deficient situation regarding the minority rights of the Ukrainian Romanians (including the Ukrainian self-declared Moldovans),[2][11][12] particularly in Romanian media.[13] In 2003, Bojescu was elected executive president of the Bukovinian Independent Center for Current Studies.[1] This organization is part of the larger Romanian Community of Ukraine Interregional Union,[2] of which she was elected executive secretary in 2005.[1] The Romanian Community of Ukraine Interregional Union is dedicated to supporting legislation in Ukraine offering proper minority rights to national ethnic minorities.[2]

Bojescu has held the office of deputy chairman of the Council of Representatives of Public Associations of National Minorities and Indigenous Peoples of the education ministry of Ukraine.[1] In 2019, she was one of the several participants in a meeting between the Hungarian politician Zsolt Németh and Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Several matters were discussed during the meeting, including the situation of the minority languages of Ukraine.[7] She also met in 2022 with representatives of the Hungarian minority of Ukraine in the headquarters of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ).[14]

Bojescu was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of "Knight", in the F Category ("The promotion of culture"), on 6 March 2025 by the President of Romania. She received the award in appreciation of her "important contributions made to the promotion of Romanian language and literature [...] for the preservation of Romanian traditions and civilization and the promotion of Romania's image in Ukraine". Victor Micula, Romania's ambassador to Ukraine, stated that the award was a culmination of her activities carried out over decades. Bojescu and two other Ukrainian Romanian figures (writer and journalist Maria Andrieș and journalist Nicolae Șapcă, for the same reasons) received the award in a ceremony at the National Palace of the Romanians of Chernivtsi.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Рада громадських об'єднань національних меншин (спільнот) України" (in Ukrainian). State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience. Archived from the original on 16 January 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gherman, Marin (22 December 2022). "Reacție românească din Cernăuți în urma votării noii legi a minorităților din Ucraina: Efectul va fi acela că limba română va fi tot mai puțin vorbită în Ucraina". Libertatea (in Romanian).
  3. ^ Sánchez Costa, Raúl (31 January 2023). "Treatment of ethnic communities pits Ukraine against neighbors Romania and Hungary". El País.
  4. ^ "Божеску Ауріка Василівна" (in Ukrainian). Chesno. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Стали известны помощники-консультанты нардепов-одесситов. Полный список". Intent (in Ukrainian). 31 January 2015.
  6. ^ Bocancea, Sorin (2018). "Serghei HAKMAN: "Bucovina este un punct fluctuant pe harta Europei"" (PDF). Polis. Revistă de Științe Politice. Seria nouă (in Romanian). 6 (4 (22)): 65–80.
  7. ^ a b "Meeting of Zsolt Németh and Secretary General Jagland". Permanent Representation of Hungary to the Council of Europe. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. ^ "De ce și cum au votat românii din Ucraina la alegerile prezidențiale. Aurica Bojescu la Telefonul de la ora 9". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). 24 April 2019.
  9. ^ Aruștei, Simona (20 February 2026). "Școlile cu predare în limba română din Ucraina se confruntă cu o mare criză de personal didactic". Agerpres (in Romanian).
  10. ^ Niculescu, Mihai (22 February 2026). "La 80 de ani, cea mai vârstnică profesoară din Bucovina de Nord ține în viață școlile românești din Ucraina" (in Romanian). Pro TV.
  11. ^ "Româncă din Cernăuți, despre cum Ucraina limitează accesul minorităților la limba maternă: "Nu putem accepta asta pentru copiii și școlile noastre"". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). 24 December 2022.
  12. ^ Bădiliță, Iolanda (12 June 2019). "Aurica Bojescu: "Dorim o colaborare bilaterală cu România pentru a ne putea menține drepturile noastre constituționale din Ucraina" (VIDEO)" (in Romanian). Radio Europa Liberă Moldova.
  13. ^ Bogdan, Sidonia (29 December 2022). "De ce abordarea naționalistă asupra comunității de români din Ucraina o aruncă în brațele Rusiei". PRESShub.
  14. ^ "EU-Erweiterungskommissar in Transkarpatien". Ungarn Heute (in German). 30 September 2022.
  15. ^ Aruștei, Simona (6 March 2025). "Ucraina/ Trei oameni de cultură din Cernăuți, distinși cu Ordinul 'Meritul Cultural' în grad de Cavaler". Agerpres (in Romanian).
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