Varujan Vosganian (Romanian pronunciation:[varuˈʒanvosɡaˈnjan]; Armenian: Վարուժան Ոսկանեան, born on 25 July 1958) is a Romanian politician, economist, essayist and poet of Armenian origin. Vosganian was Romania's Minister of Economy and Commerce (2006–2008) in the Tăriceanu cabinet and Minister of Economy in the Ponta cabinet (2012–2013). He is the President of The Union of Armenians in Romania (UAR, 1990–present) and the Prime-vice president of the Union of Writers in Romania (2005–present). His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
After participating in the Romanian Revolution in 1989, he has been a member of the Romanian Parliament since the first free elections in 1990. In 1990, he became president of The Union of Armenians in Romania and he was twice (1990–1992 and 1992–1996) elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and a Senator (1996–2000, on the lists of the Union of Right Forces, and 2004–2016, on the lists of the National Liberal Party). Between 1996 and 2003, he was the leader of the Union of Right Forces (Uniunea Forţelor de Dreapta), a right wingliberal party, which eventually merged into the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 2003. Having served as minister for Economy and Finance between 2006 and 2008, Vosganian was minister of commerce from 2012 to 2013.
Since 2016, he has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies on the lists of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
Along with non-fiction works on economics, Vosganian has also published many essays and literary texts, such as a volume of poems, short stories and novels. The international recognition came with The Book of Whispers (2009), translated in more than twenty languages. Presented in different events (public lectures, essays, workshops, screenings and dramatisations) in more than forty countries from all the continents, The Book of Whispers became the book-symbol against the crime of genocide.
Vosganian speaks Armenian, Romanian, English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
Prizes and awards
Literary prizes and awards
Prize of the Association of Writers in Bucharest for the best prose of the year – 1994
Great Prize for Poetry Nichita Stănescu (Chișinău, Republic of Moldavia) – 2006
Prize for the best book of the year, awarded by the Romania Literară literary magazine (2009)
Prize for the best prose of the year, awarded by Convorbiri Literare literary magazine (2009)
Prize for the best prose of the year, awarded by the Romanian Academy, 2009
Prize for the best prose of the year and the Prize of readers, awarded by Observatorul Cultural Magazine (2010)
Prize for the best prose of the year, awarded by Viața Românească Literary Magazine – 2010
Prize for the best prose of the year awarded by Argeș literary magazine (2010)
Nomination for the best prose of the year – Union of Writers in Romania (2009,2013)
Niram Art Prize for poetry Tristan Tzara and for prose Mihail Sebastian, awarded by Niram Art Foundation, Madrid, 2010
Nomination for the best translation of the year, Leipzig Bookfair, 2014
The Angelus Award,[1] The Prize of the Readers Natalia Gorbanevskaia and The Prize for the best translation of the year, Wrocław, 2016
Other Awards:
Doctor Honoris Causa, awarded by Vasile Goldis University of Arad, 2006
Romanian Academy Award for the contribution to the development of Romanian science and culture, 2006
Gold Medal for Culture, awarded by the Government of Armenia, 2006, 2013
Order "Nerses Shnorhali" awarded by the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, 2006
"Ordine della Solidarieta Italiana" awarded by President Giorgio Napolitano of Republic of Italy, 2008
Order "Cilician Knight" awarded by the Great House of Cilicia Catholicosate, 2008
"St. Andrew's Cross", awarded by the Romanian Patriarchate, 2008
Medal "Movses Khorenatzi" awarded by President Serge Sarksian of Republic of Armenia, 2011
Medal "William Saroyan" awarded by the Government of Armenia, 2012
Publications
Economics
Jurnalul de front: articole economice, Bucharest, Staff, 1994;
Contradicțiile tranziției la o economie de piață, Bucharest, Expert, 1994;
Reforma piețelor financiare din România, Iași, Polirom, 1999.
Literature
Copiii războiului (The Children of War), novel, Polirom, 2016
Cartea poemelor mele nescrise (The Book of my Unwritten Poems), poems, Cartea Românească, 2015 – around 2500 books sold
Jocul celor o sută de frunze și alte povestiri (The Game of Hundred Leaves and Other Stories), stories, Polirom, 2013 – around 3500 copies sold
Cartea șoaptelor (The Book of Whispers), novel, Polirom, Iasi, 2009, 2012 – more than 60.000 copies sold
Iisus cu o mie de brațe (Jesus with a Thousand Arms), poems, Dacia, 2005
Ochiul cel alb al reginei (The White Eye of the Queen), poems, bilingual (Romanian – English) Cartea Romaneasca, 2001
Statuia Comandorului (The Statue of Commander), stories, Ararat, 1994
Șamanul Albastru (The Blue Shaman) volume of poems, Ararat, 1994
Translations:
A kék sámán (Șamanul Albastru), AB – ART (2009), poems, Hungarian translation
El libro de los susurros (Cartea șoaptelor), Pre – Textos (2010), Spanish translation by Joaquin Garrigos
Il libro dei sussurri (Cartea șoaptelor), Kellerdi Rovereto Trento (2011), Italian translation by Anita Natascia Bernacchia
Șșukneri Matian (Cartea șoaptelor), Writers' Union of Armenia (2012), Antares (2014, second edition), Armenian translation by Sergiu Selian
Sefer Halehishot (Cartea șoaptelor), Hakibbutz Hameuchad (2012), Hebrew translation by Any Shilon
Le livre des chuchotements (Cartea șoaptelor), Editions des Syrtes (2013), French translation by Laure Hinckel și Marily Le Nir
Viskningarnas bok (Cartea șoaptelor), 2244 (2013), Swedish translation by Inger Johansson
Buch des Flüsterns (Cartea șoaptelor), Zsolnay Verlag (2013), Büchergilde Gutemberg (2015), German translation by Ernest Wichner
Proșepnata kniga (Cartea șoaptelor), Avangard Print (2013), Bulgarian translation by Vanina Bojikova
Suttogások könyve (Cartea șoaptelor), Orpheusz (2014), Hungarian translation by Zsolt Karácsony
Livro dos Sussuros (Cartea șoaptelor), Digital edition (2015), Portuguese translation by Ernest Wichner
Pecipeci name (Cartea șoaptelor), Ketabe Miamak (2015), Persan translation by Garoon Sarkisean
Vosganian said during one of his interviews: "The book was written between 2003 and 2008. I do not know when I got the idea to write it, maybe I always had this thought. The Book of Whispers is, at the same time, autobiography, fiction and historical document. The characters and the events recounted are true. What I have added is the power of symbols. I used both the memory of my family and testimonies of survivors or historical documents. The book presents the biography of the twentieth century; The Armenian Genocide; The Communism in Eastern Europe; How to surpass a common trauma; How to choose between oblivion, revenge and forgiveness (the fundamental option of the human condition: to forgive – to revenge – to forget)."
Other
Founding member of the Romanian Society of Economy (SOREC)
Member of the Board of International Experts of the Centre for European Policy Studies based in Brussels (1992–1995)
Honorary member of the Scientific Council of the National Institute of Economic Foresight
Senior Researcher of the National Institute of Economics in Romania
Honorary Member of The Romanian Chamber of Commerce
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