A politician, lawyer and publicist, Emil A. Dandea was, along with his predecessor Bernady György , one of the most important mayors of Tîrgu- Mureș. His activity during his two mandates left a positive mark on the evolution of the city, as it was a time of cultural and economical progress. In his first speeches as mayor, Emil Dandea underlined his determination to bring prosperity to Tîrgu-Mureș as a town of the new Romanian state, without disregarding its traditions and the work of his predecessors. Dandea was born on January 23, 1883, in Bucium, the County of Alba. His family had a long standing tradition of fighting for the national rights of Romanians. His grandfather, Ionut Dandea had been a captain in Horea”™s army, and his father, Simion, was a member of the “Memorandum” movement. After attending elementary and middle school, Dandea went on to study at the Law School of Cluj-Napoca and then at the Commercial Academy of Vienna. By the end of the First World War and the unification of Romania, Emil Dandea had graduated from Law School and was chairman of the Young Romanians”™ Society of Cluj. In this capacity, he attended the Great National Assembly of Alba-Iulia on December 1, 1918. As the Directing Council ("Consiliul Dirigent") began acting as a temporary government in Transylvania, the Hungarian administration was progressively replaced by the Romanian one. Thus, Dandea was appointed secretary and counselor at the Mayor”™s Office of Cluj Napoca. His first mandate as mayor of Tîrgu-Mureș started in 1922, after a period of stagnation and even regress of the social and economical situation of the city. Dandea was mainly preoccupied with the administrative reorganization and  the revival of Romanian culture. He provided buildings for Romanian schools: "Al. Papiu Ilarian" Highschool for Boys, "Unirea" Highschool for Girls and the Commercial School. The projects of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Cathedrals were initiated. Statues representing symbols of Romanian history, such as the Monument of Latinity or the statue of Avram Iancu were erected. The printing and publishing houses of the mayor”™s office had an intense activity. Numerous reviews, newspapers and books are published (e.g. “Orașul”, “Glasul Mureșului”). In the economic and social fields, Dandea”™s major contributions were to pay all the debts of the mayor”™s office, to introduce natural gas, to issue numerous authorizations for the construction of new buildings etc. In 1923 he married Sidonia Cristina of Toplița, the granddaughter of patriarch Miron. Two years after the expiration of his first mandate as mayor – as of 1926- he represented Mures as deputy in the Parliament of Romania. This is where he gave his famous speech entitled “The Grievances of Transylvania and the Minority Issue”. After the conclusion of his parliamentary mandate, he returned to Tîrgu-Mureș and worked as a lawyer for a few years. He pursued his political career as a member of the National Liberal Party, and in 1934 he became chairman of the party”™s Mureș County Organization. During his second mandate as mayor, between 1934 and 1937, several projects he had begun between 1922 and 1924 were finalized. Thus, the construction of the two cathedrals was concluded, as well as that of the apprentices”™ dormitory building. He gave his support to Aurel Filimon to establish the Museum of History, Archeology and Ethnography, and to Aurel Ciupe for the establishment of the Municipal Art Gallery and for acquiring several Romanian artworks. Aurel Ciupe also received help from the mayor”™s office to organize a free school of drawing and painting. Dandea also promoted a cultural event entitled "The Cultural Month". After Tîrgu-Mureș became part of Hungary in 1940, Dandea fled to Bucharest. After the liberation, he returned to the city and was a candidate at the elections of 1946. He lost, however, due to the political schemes of the new Communist Party. Like many other politicians of the inter-war era, he suffered retaliations upon the instauration of the communist totalitarianism.  Between 1952 and 1953 he was arrested and sentenced to forced labor, and between 1953 and 1955 he was confined to his house in Tazlau. He died in Bucharest in 1969, and was buried in the cemetery of the Wooden Church of Tîrgu-Mureș, according to his wishes. Bibliography: Melinte șerban, Aspecte ale vieții culturale târgumureșene în perioada interbelică în vol. "Un om pentru Tîrgu-Mureș: Emil A. Dandea", Tîrgu-Mureș, Fundația Culturală "Vasile Netea", 1995, pp. 74-77.