Iosif Jumanca

Iosif Jumanca (23 December 1893 26 June 1950) was an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian politician.

Born in Fólya, Temes County (now Folea, Timiș County) in 1893, he became a founding member of the Romanian branch of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party, which later became the Social Democratic Party of Transylvania and Banat. A journalist by profession, his political outlook encompassed both a strong patriotism on behalf of Austria-Hungary's Romanians and a commitment to social democracy. He was elected to the party leadership at three successive congresses: Nagyszeben (Sibiu) (December 1906), Budapest (December 1910) and Arad (October 1913). Although he viewed the socialist movement mainly in terms of struggle between classes rather than nationalities, Jumanca insisted on separate Romanian structures because he believed the many Romanian workers of Transylvania and Hungary were hesitant to join Hungarian-led political and trade movements for fear of Magyarization. He saw Romanian-led party sections and unions as a way to educate workers about their own language and history while safeguarding against Magyarization.

Near the end of World War I, on October 30, 1918, a Romanian council was created in Budapest with the goal of preparing the Union of Transylvania with Romania. This body had six representatives from the Romanian National Party and six social democrats, among whom was Jumanca. Moreover, he was present at the assembly in Alba Iulia that proclaimed the union, delivering a speech to the crowd of over 100,000 in which he emphasized the devotion to the national cause of the workers' movement. The following day, he was elected to the region's provisional parliament and named by the interim government as minister for industry.

Jumanca was among the social democrats elected to the Romanian Chamber of Deputies in 1928 and in 1931. Additionally, from 1932 to 1933, he was a member of the Cluj city council. In 1933, he was elected to the Senate, and he served until 1937. Unlike Grigorovici, Jumanca had not held a position in Carol's government; neither had he been in the king's parliament, as had Flueraș; nor had he even considered cooperating with the Ion Antonescu dictatorship at its onset. These considerations led the individuals who recreated the PSDR after the royal coup d'état of August 23, 1944, to elect Jumanca to the party leadership. In contrast, Grigorovici, Flueraș, , and Ilie Mirescu were excluded for their past collaboration.

Jumanca was a close ally of Titel Petrescu, whom he followed into the Independent Social Democratic Party after a split between pro- and anti-communist social democrats in March 1946. Along with other party leaders, the two were arrested in February 1948 by the authorities of the new Communist Romania. According to witnesses mentioned by historian , Jumanca was killed by torture at Gherla Prison, his body then transported to Văcărești Prison in Bucharest, in order to hide the evidence of the crime.