BNR to release in 2020 a 20 lei banknote depicting Ecaterina Teodoroiu's portrait

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) will put into circulation in 2020, the 20 lei banknote, which will have on one of its sides the portrait of Ecaterina Teodoroiu, the heroine who fought and died in the First World War, the BNR announced on Wednesday.

"The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania decided, in the meeting on 30 July 2019, to put into circulation, in 2020, a banknote which will depict on one of its sides the the portrait of Ecaterina Teodoriu, the heroine who died in battle during the World War I. The banknote will have the nominal value of 20 lei. This nominal value has also been used in the history of issues of Romanian banknotes and it can be found among those already put into circulation in the Eurozone," a BNR release sent to stiripesurse.ro shows.

According to the quoted source, the choice of Ecaterina Teodoroiu's picture has a double significance. Thus, the BNR supports the concerns for strengthening gender equality, in line with the initiatives of other central banks around the world. Also, the BNR once again marks the anniversary of the Greater Romania Centennial, honoring the image of a hero of the First World War.

"The BNR Board of Directors believes that promoting the image of a woman on a banknote with circulatory power represents a demarche that responds to a legitimate public interest - to promote women personalities - which has found widespread support in the Romanian society. The National Bank has responded to this request ever since last year by choosing the image of Marie of Romania for the anniversary banknote dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Greater Union on 1 December 1918," the release shows.

The BNR will soon release the banknote layout to the public, the security and identification features, as well as the exact date when it will be put into circulation.