Professional associations of engineers were established in
Romania as early as the 19th century, when in 1876 the Society of Engineers and Architects was created, but the first viable association was the Polytechnic Society, established in 1881 on the occasion of the inauguration of the
Buzău-
Mărășești railway, the first railway in Romania designed and executed by Romanian engineers. The first president of the Polytechnic Society was
Ștefan Fălcoianu, honorary president being
Dimitrie Sturdza. Subsequently, among the presidents of the society were personalities such as
Anghel Saligny and
Elie Radu. In 1918, the General Association of Engineers of Romania was established in
Iași. The stated aim was to "organizse and increase the knowledge and working power of engineers (...), in order to make the most use in the work of restoring the country (...), solidarity and support for their professional interests". The first president of AGIR was
Gheorghe Balș, and one of the next was
Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen. In 1949 the two associations merged under the name of the Scientific Association of Technicians (AST), president being the academic
Nicolae Profiri, who at that time was the president of both the Polytechnic Society and AGIR. The name of the association was changed from 1951 to 1962 to the Scientific Association of Engineers and Technicians (ASIT), and from 1962 to 1989 to the National Council of Engineers and Technicians (CNIT). In 1990 the association resumed its name as the "General Association of Engineers of Romania". Over the years, engineering associations have been supported by personalities such as
Spiru Haret,
Ion I. C. Brătianu,
Vintilă I.C. Brătianu,
Constantin F. Robescu,
Traian Lalescu,
Gheorghe Țițeica,
Nicolae Zane, and
George Nestor. == Current Activity ==