Associate professor Simona Corlan-Ioan, PhD, teaching staff at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest, has received the order “Palmes académiques” in Chevalier (Knight) rank from the French Republic

Associate professor Simona Corlan-Ioan, PhD, teaching staff at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest, was named Knight of the Order of the Academic Palms bestowed by the French Republic. The distinction was bestowed to Simona Corlan-Ioan as recognition for her remarkable contribution in developing and promoting French culture in the academic setting and in society.

The award ceremony took place Wednesday, November 29^th 2023, at the Embassy of France in Romania, in the presence of his Excellence, Mr. Nicolas Warnery, Ambassador of the French Republic in Romania. Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, vice-rector for University Networks and Public Relations of the University of Bucharest, also attended the event.

10 years of diplomacy in Africa, from 2006 to 2016

Simona Corlan-Ioan is part of the teaching staff at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest. Since 2017, she has been director at the UB Institute for African Studies, and starting from 2020, she is head of the UB Senghor Department.

Alumna of the UB Faculty of History in 1989, she has participated in several research stages between 1995 and 2019, at prestigious academic institutions in France, among which École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris.

In 1998 she received the title of “doctor in history” with a thesis on the Image of black Africa in XIXth-century France, coordinated by professor Lucian Boia, PhD.

At the same time, for a period of 10 years, associate professor Simona Corlan-Ioan pursued a career in diplomacy, being appointed Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, Burkina Faso (2006-2011), Morocco (2011-2016) and in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (2015- 2016).

“I was asked to be an ambassador to try to re-open Romania’s almost fully closed gates towards the African countries (old political and commercial partners), being placed in front of a challenge hard to grasp at first sight. I was thus changing my profession, and I had the possibility to live in a world I only knew from books. For about 10 years, every day I learned something new about Africa. However, in the years I served as Ambassador, I have never ceased to identify as a historian and to investigate the world I was given to live in, and I have permanently thought about how to better put into words what I saw and lived, so that I could share this experience with my students at my return home. When I went back to teaching full-time, in 2016, I started to re-live the African experience by remembering and analyzing it” affirms associate professor Simona Corlan-Ioan in an interview from 2019, emphasizing that “Africa chose me ever since I was just a pupil in a school belonging to a communist neighborhood.”

The Order of “Palmes académiques” is the oldest civil distinction bestowed by the French state, established by Emperor Napoleon I in 1808 for rewarding, initially, only those extraordinary merits of university professors. Since 1866, the distinction extended for the members of civil society who contributed to the development and promotion of the French culture in society. Nominations and appointments are made biannually, by decree of the French prime minister, at the proposal of the Minister for Higher Education and Research in France. Since 1955, the order has three hierarchical ranks: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Comandeur (Commander).