Woman’s Leadership. A model for the Third Millennium
Woman’s Leadership. A model for the Third Millennium
Speech of Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Romania
XVI Marmara Eurasian Economic Summit Istanbul, 9-11 April 2013
Mr Chairman,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
I am honoured to have been invited today to speak about the role of women in sustainable development, before of an audience which includes remarkable women of all nationalities, backgrounds and achievements. This environment should be, for all of us, an occasion to exchange and share our experiences and turn women achievers from the exception into the rule.
Both my background in sociology, international law and political science, as well as the fact that I have been blessed to have in my family’s heritage the example of exceptional women who have played an influential role in public life, have forged my strong belief that women have a paramount role to play in today’s world.
My great grandmother Queen Marie, Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, remains a greatly admired and beloved figure. A multi faceted, fascinating and courageous woman, she steps boldly off the pages of history. Her humanitarian and diplomatic efforts for our country during World War I and subsequently during the 1919 Paris Peace Conference won her worldwide acclaim and affection.
She was here in Turkey many years before me. She came as a messenger of peace and reconciliation between our two Nations. She was a consummate ambassador and a role model for women of all social backgrounds. Queen Marie was the Patron of the Romanian Red Cross, and gained much respect for her work as a nurse during the First World War. We find her in the trenches, or visiting the Front – she knew no fear of bullets or bombs. We find her in the hospitals among the wounded and the sick; she knew no fear of dirt or disease; and she was also the one who, at the Peace Conference at Versailles, used her wits and her charm to gain Romania its most cherished wish – national unity. Her presence at the Versailles conference only reinforced the report sent out of Bucharest in 1917 by a French correspondent: “There is only one man in Romania, and that is the queen.”
Her predecessor, Elisabeta, the first Queen of Romania, besides being a progressive queen, was a famous international author and poetess, known all over Europe under the pseudonym of ‘Carmen Sylva”. A leading figure in education, science and in the social field, in her own country she was called “The Mother of the Injured” for her role in our War of Independence, and afterwards, in establishing and supporting the care of those in need.
She published over 53 volumes in 7 European languages, she founded institutions for the poor, schools, hospitals, soup-kitchens, convalescent homes, cooking-schools and crèches, she fought for the respect for sanitary laws, she founded art galleries and art schools. She championed the cause of women’s rights in her country, fostering the higher education of women, creating schools for the teaching of weaving, embroidery and crafts. A powerful “soft power”, as we could call it today. As a consort of the Sovereign, she exercised from 1869 to 1916 a major influence over a society at the beginning of modernization.
Still today, despite the vagaries of history, the foremost charitable and medical institutions of the country bear these two women’s names.
My grandmother, Queen Helen of Romania, played a luminous, if discreet, role in the dark history of Romania in the twentieth century. She was a courageous and strong woman, thrown into the midst of history’s brutal machinations, while single-handedly educating her son in the skills of leadership. She was a constant support of the democratic forces of Romania during the years between 1940 and 1947. Her role in the Second World War will not be forgotten by the thousands whose lives she saved and who she cared for. In the face of the tyranny of Nazism, she displayed a resolutely strong character, pursuing what she knew to be right and good. She was involved in saving the lives of thousands of people of the Jewish Faith during the dictatorship of Marshal Antonescu. This was formally recognised as the Yad Vashem institute posthumously named her a “Righteous Among the Nations.”
And today, my mother, Queen Anne, is a living reminder that, in the face of danger, women look forwards and are ready to fight for a noble cause – that of freedom and democracy. Queen Anne was a Lieutenant in the French Army, fought in the Second World War driving an ambulance, as a military nurse, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre by France for her service. In the last 20 years, Queen Anne was a model for the Romanian women, by her example of loyalty, courage, patience and trust in her country’s future.
In today’s society, women have the chance to show that achievement does not mean only gain for one’s self, but also common gain. With this mind-set, women can bring a different view into humanity’s fight against climate change, growing social inequality and extremism in all its forms. With natural moderation, and a long-term view dedicated to building durable families and communities, women are proving to be agents of peace and equilibrium.
Our capacity for caring is our strength. Whenever disaster strikes, women are found to be those who can be trusted with rebuilding quickly and effectively the resource networks needed for a community to prosper. And women, when given the chance, have been shown to be the most reliable, fair and successful private entrepreneurs of the world.
I trust that, looking back at the women who came before us, we can take pride and lead our countries and our organisations forward on a socially responsible and sustainable path.