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On Thursday, 16 September 2021, in the presence of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu, Minister of Culture Bogdan Gheorghiu, interim manager Ioan Onisei, the sons of actor Ion Caramitru and several guests from the cultural field, the new name of NTB’s Grand Hall was officially unveiled, which has become the Ion Caramitru Hall.
On this occasion, actor Mircea Rusu, artistic director of the National Theatre of Bucharest stated:
"It will take us a long time to understand what Ion Caramitru has done for the Romanian theatre and especially for the National Theatre of Bucharest. The initiative of the Minister of Culture, Mr Bogdan Gheorghiu, seems to me to be salutary: Ion Caramitru's image must be preserved, maintained and cultivated. He is the founder of the current National Theatre of Bucharest, unique in Romania's theatrical sphere. I will not enumerate the areas in which he excelled. The theatre is called Caragiale, and the Grand Hall will be called Caramitru. Both have the sap of a branch of Romanian spirit: sap full of talent, ambition, book knowledge, artistic sensitivity. And all these qualities were in Pino's personality. Pino, we promise not to bring shame to your name, a name you have built with much grace and toil."
The Minister of Culture, Bogdan Gheorghiu, who proposed changing the name of the Grand Hall to "Ion Caramitru" Hall, said on this occasion: "It is the way we ensure today that the cultural legacy left by his majesty will reach future generations. Whether in his position as Minister of Culture, manager of the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest or as an actor, he has put himself at the service of excellence and changed the known reality. His name is closely linked to Romanian heritage and the way we relate to its preservation and capitalization today, to UNITER, whose president he was elected in 1990 when this theatrical union was founded, and to the Gala he presented every year and, last but not least, to the 1989 Revolution. But this name is also linked to his extraordinary ability to bring people together, to create ideals, to generate memories. I am convinced that all of us here have looked at Caramitru with admiration and I hope that all those who will step into the Ion Caramitru Hall will honour his memory with an appreciation of the theatre and applause, as the master himself would have wished".
The Prime Minister of Romania, Florin Cîțu, asked those present to hold a moment of silence in memory of Ion Caramitru and said in front of the hall that from today will bear the name of the actor: "We all knew the master Ion Caramitru, as an actor in films, or on the stage of the National Theatre. As Minister of Finance, I also knew him as a manager and I would like to say that he was as talented as an actor. A lot of nice words were used during this period. Anything and everything I could say could not illustrate what Ion Caramitru meant to us, Romanians. I know that naming the Grand Hall as Ion Caramitru Hall is a small gesture, but a symbol by which we show our gratitude for all that Ion Caramitru did in his cultural activity. From now on, the plays performed in this hall of the National Theatre will have a special meaning and thus, the legacy left by him will never be lost. Thank you, Ion Caramitru!"
Ion Caramitru was the general manager of NTB for 16 years, from 2005 to 2021, being the one who restored the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest to its original architectural form, transforming it into a modern performance building, with a record number of halls, serving the desire of the general public for real theatre. A "New Theatre" that it has served with devotion since 2005.
Since 1990, he has led the Romanian Theatre Union (UNITER), to which events such as the National Theatre Festival and the UNITER Awards Gala - true annual celebrations of the profession - are linked.
As an actor, he has capitalized the work of Eminescu, telling it like no other throughout Romania and the world and, as Minister of Culture, he has contributed to its survival through both classical means, on paper, and through digital means.
He was one of the most brilliant performers of Shakespeare's theatre, producing memorable creations, and was acknowledged as one of the ten best actors in the world to play Hamlet.
He was born in 1942 in Bucharest. He graduated from the "I.L. Caragiale" Institute of Theatre and Cinema, class of Prof. Beate Fredanov, in 1964, when he also made his debut on the stage of the National Theatre in Bucharest, in "Eminescu" by Mircea Ștefănescu. His most recent roles were also here, in the shows Eduard III - the main role (2008), Prospero in The Tempest (2014), Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (2019), the mega-successful Dinner with Fools by Francis Veber (from 2012), as well as in Ufo by Ivan Vyrypaev (2017) or in the documentary theatre show "Romanian Diary.1989" (2020).
For all his artistic activity related to the work of one of the greatest playwrights of all times, in 2016, Ion Caramitru was appointed Shakespeare Cultural Ambassador in Romania, on the occasion of Shakespeare Year - 400.
Exceptional career rewarded with numerous awards, including: acting awards in the Romanian Theatre (1975, 1979, 1981, 1985), Cinema Magazine Award for acting (1976), Filmmakers’ Association Award, 1980, Special Jury Award for the main role in the film "Luchian", at the National Film Festival, Costinești, "Academic Merit" awarded by the Romanian Academy, 2012, Aristizza Romanescu Award of the Romanian Academy, 2013.
In 1995, he received the title of Officer of Honour of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for his Romanian-British cultural activity and was decorated by Queen Elizabeth II, and in 1997, the title of Knight of the Order of Letters and Arts of France. In 2000, he was awarded the Order of Merit of Romania with the rank of Grand Cross. He has received 5 honorary doctor degrees, from: the University of Arts in Iasi (2008), Ovidius University in Constanta (2012), ESRA University of Audiovisual Arts in Skopje (2016), "Constantin Brâncuși" University in Târgu-Jiu, December 2017 and the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Kishinev (2018).
In 2017, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Ribbon, the most important Japanese order for foreign citizens, awarded in the name of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan. National Order of the Star of Romania to the rank of Knight, 2017. The latest public recognition was the Award for the Promotion of Eminescu's works, presented by the Ipotești Memorial in June 2021.

Translated by Simona Nichiteanu