Ernest Bernea (28 March 1905 – 14 November 1990) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnographer, photographer, philosopher, poet, and far-right ideologue.

[1] Bernea grew up in Brăila, where he worked from an early age, due to the fact that his father was seriously ill and his older brother had been killed in World War I.

[1] He raised four younger brothers, despite himself being a "copil de trupă" ("child of the troops"), meaning that his upbringing and education was paid for by the military.

During this time, he made contacts with historian Nicolae Iorga, ethnographer Dimitrie Gusti, and philosopher Nae Ionescu.

[2] From 1935 to 1940, he served as conferențiar (an intermediary level between a lecturer and full-time professor) of human geography at the University of Bucharest, under the leadership of Simion Mehedinți.

In 1935, Bernea became a member of the Legionary Movement (or Iron Guard), a nationalist, antisemitic, and far-right group active in interwar Romania.

[1][3] Bernea published several pieces of standalone Legionary propaganda during this period, and helped to promote and increase membership in the movement among sociologists and other academics.

[7][2] Under the recommendation of Perpesiccius, Alexandru Philippide, and Miron Nicolescu, Bernea returned to his professional activities in 1965, working for the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest until 1972.