Alexandru A. Bădărău (April 9, 1859–March 27, 1927) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n politician, academic, and journalist. Born in Bădărăi,

Iași County Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a coun ...

(now in

Botoșani County Botoșani County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. De ...

), his father was the local mayor. He studied at the National College in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, graduating first in his class in 1877. He then entered the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

, but was expelled in 1881 for participating in the socialist movement. Bădărău continued his education at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where he obtained a law degree, also earning a diploma from the

École Libre des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

. He then took a doctorate in literature and philosophy from the

Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

. While there, he took part in a socialist circle that published ''Dacia viitoare'' magazine in 1883. After returning home in 1885, he became a French teacher at two schools in Iași as well as a psychology professor within the local university's literature faculty. Together with George Panu, he founded the Radical Democratic Party in 1888; this merged with the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

(PC) in 1897. He was elected to the Assembly of Deputies as a PC candidate. In 1908, he left the Conservative Party, following

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...

into the

Conservative-Democratic Party The Conservative-Democratic Party (, PCD) was a political party in Romania. Over the years, it had the following names: the Democratic Party, the Nationalist Conservative Party, or the Unionist Conservative Party. The Conservative-Democratic Part ...

. Bădărău was mayor of Iași from 1899 to 1901, undertaking a vigorous civic activity. One of his priorities was to create a public water-supply system to bring water from the

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

to the city; he argued at length with his predecessor,

Nicolae Gane Nicolae Gane (February 1, 1838 – April 16, 1916) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet and politician. Born in Fălticeni, his family were '' boyars'' of small and medium importance; his parents were ''postelnic'' Matei Gane and his ...

, who favored bringing water from

Timișești Timișești is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, H ...

. After he left office, the Timișești variant was chosen, and Bădărău went there in April 1907 for the start of the works. He twice served as minister in Conservative cabinets: under

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (22 September 1833 – 22 March 1913), was a Romanian politician and lawyer, one of the leading Conservative Party policymakers. Among his political posts were minister of public instruction in Romania, preside ...

, he was

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from December 1904 to June 1906; under

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...

, he was Public Works Minister from October 1912 to December 1913. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he founded ''Opinia'' newspaper, where he was a frequent contributor. He died in IașiGiurescu, p. 56 and was buried in the city's

Eternitatea Cemetery Eternitatea is the biggest cemetery in Iași, Romania. Notable interments * Vasile Adamachi, philanthropist * Petre Andrei, sociologist and politician * Dimitrie Anghel, poet and writer * Alexandru Bădărău, politician, academic, and journa ...

Notes

References

* Dinu C. Giurescu, ''Dicționar biografic de istorie a României''. Bucharest: Editura Meronia, 2008, {{DEFAULTSORT:Badarau, Alexandru 1859 births 1927 deaths Alexandru Ioan Cuza University faculty Burials at Eternitatea cemetery Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians Conservative-Democratic Party politicians Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Mayors of Iași Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) People from Botoșani County Romanian opinion journalists Romanian socialists Romanian schoolteachers Romanian Ministers of Justice Romanian Ministers of Public Works University of Paris alumni Romanian expatriates in France