Aurel Cosma

Aurel Cosma (September 26, 1867 – July 31, 1931) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. A leader of the National Party in Timișoara before World War I, Cosma was a representative of the Banat in the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia that voted for the Union of Transylvania with Romania on 1 December 1918.

Early life Aurel Cosma was born in the village Beregsău Mare in the family of the school teacher Damaschin (1844–1915) and Maria Panaiot. He went to the primary school in Topolovățu Mare. Later (in 1877) Cosma moved to a state school in the Fabric district of Timișoara where he was taught in Hungarian language, which was required in order for him to be able to attend a secondary school ("Gymnasium"). He graduated in 1888 from the in Timișoara. He practiced law for 35 years, also as the lawyer of the "Timişiana" Bank. He compiled a memoir for the rights of the Romanians in Transylvania and the Banat, contesting the immigrationist theories regarding the origins of the Romanians, and he had a major role in spreading the Eugen Brote's political manifesto Cestiunea română din Transilvania şi Ungaria ("The Romanian Question of Transylvania and Hungary"), which was published in the wake of the Transylvanian Memorandum. Almost nine years later, Otto Roth recalled on 25 September 1927 in an interview for the : "Dr. Aurel Cosma obviously laid [before us] the highest ideal of any Romanian politician: Greater Romania. And he did this at a time and at a place in a very risky way. I gambled with my own life proclaiming the [Banat] Republic at that officers' meeting, on 31 October 1918, and only in hindsight I realized that then, out of 700 present officers, none drew his sword either for the Habsburgs or Count Tisza. Even so they could also have cut Cosma into pieces because he was the only one who jumped to the tribune of the Military Casino hall and thundered: 'Romanians, follow me, long live the Romanian National Council!'". Serbian garrisons disarmed the remaining Guards of Timișoara and Reșița. A delegation of the Banat Romanians, led by Aurel Cosma, participated at the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia that declared the union of Transylvania and the Banat with the Kingdom of Romania, despite the opposition of the Serbian administration, which tried to block the departure of the Romanian delegates. Order of the Crown (Romania), Grand Cross A street in Timișoara bears his name