107 years since the Union of Bessarabia with Romania
On March 27, it turns 107 years since 1918, when the Sfatul Țării (Council of the Country) voted for the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. This was the first of the historical provinces to join Romania. Later that year, the other Romanian provinces—Transylvania, Crișana, Banat, Maramureș, and Bukovina—also joined and created Greater Romania.
The Union was voted by the Sfatul Țării (Council of the Country), which convened in a solemn session in Chișinău. Present at the event were the President of the Council of Ministers of the Moldovan Republic, Daniel Ciugureanu, all members of the government, and Romania’s Prime Minister, Alexandru Marghiloman, the special envoy of King Ferdinand I.
On March 27, the Sfatul Țării voted in an open nominal vote in favor of the Union with Romania. The declaration stated:
"The Moldovan Democratic Republic (Bessarabia), within its borders between the Prut, the Nistru, the Black Sea, and its old frontiers with Austria—torn from Russia more than a hundred years ago from the body of old Moldavia—by virtue of historical right and national right, based on the principle that nations should decide their own fate, from this day forward and forevermore, UNITES WITH ITS MOTHER, ROMANIA."
The declaration concluded with the words: "Long live the eternal union of Bessarabia with Romania!"
Eighty-six members of the Sfatul Țării voted in favor of the Union, while three voted against it, and 36 abstained. On behalf of the Council, the Declaration of Union was signed by Ion Inculeț (President), Pan Halippa (vice president), and Ion Buzdugan (Secretary of the Sfatul Țării). The photo of the Act of Union from the introduction of this article is reproduced from the Albina magazine, March 1928.
Witnessing this historic event, Romania’s Prime Minister, Alexandru Marghiloman, declared on behalf of the Romanian people and King Ferdinand I (1914–1927) that he acknowledged the near-unanimous vote of the Sfatul Țării and proclaimed Bessarabia united with Romania: "Bessarabia is now forever united with Romania."
In a letter to Ion Inculeț, President of the Sfatul Țării, on March 28, King Ferdinand I wrote:
"A beautiful dream has come true. From the depths of my heart, I thank Almighty God for granting me, in difficult times, the sweet consolation to see, after a hundred years, the Bessarabian brothers returning once again to their motherland."
Every year on March 27, Romania celebrates the Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. A law formalizing this celebration was promulgated on March 27, 2017, by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
In this context, a monument to Queen Maria will be inaugurated in Chișinău, in the courtyard of the "Gheorghe Asachi" Theoretical Lyceum.
