Born in Vaslui, he graduated in 1889 from the School of Cavalry Officers, advancing in 1898 to the rank of captain. Between 1898 and 1900, he studied at the
Higher War School
The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University.
The National Defence Universit ...
. His daughter, , was born in 1901 and later became a noted historian.
He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1914. In October 1916, after Romania entered World War I on the side of the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, he took command of the 9th and 19th Divisions of the Romanian Army. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
In June 1918, Holban was appointed commander of the 6th Division, which entered Transylvania at the end of 1918. On April 20, 1919, he marched into
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...
, together with General
Traian Moșoiu
Traian Moșoiu (2 July 1868 – 15 August 1932) was a Romanian general during World War I and the Hungarian–Romanian War. He held the posts of Minister of War in the Alexandru Vaida-Voevod cabinet (December 1919 – March 1920), Minister of C ...
(the commander of the Romanian Army Group North) and Colonel . In July 1919, the forces under his command were covering a front line of some ; in the first echelon, there was the 18th Infantry Division of General Dănilă Papp, and in the second echelon, the 1st Vânători Division of General . On August 4, 1919, when the Romanian troops under the overall command of General
Gheorghe Mărdărescu
Gheorghe D. Mărdărescu (4 August 1866 – 5 September 1938) was a Romanian army major general during World War I, a commander during the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919, and Minister of War from 1922 to 1926.
Mărdărescu was born in Iași ...
entered Budapest, Holban was appointed military governor of the city. As governor, he approved the freeing of prisoners detained by the communist regime at the Rákospalota camp and in other prisons, as well as the return of property confiscated by the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
In 1921, he was promoted to the rank of division general. He served as Minister of War in the Take Ionescu cabinet from 17 December 1921 to 19 January 1922.
He died in Bucharest in 1939. A street in
Sector 1
Sector 1 is an administrative unit of Bucharest located in the northern part of the city. It contains also the northwestern districts of Băneasa and Pipera. Sector 1 is thought to be the wealthiest sector in Bucharest. Like each of Bucharest sect ...
of the capital city is named after him. A high school in
Cărpineni
Cărpineni is a commune in Hîncești District, Moldova. It is composed of two villages, Cărpineni and Horjești.Moldova also bears his name.