Alexandru G. Golescu (1819 – 15 August 1881) was a Romanian politician who served as a Prime Minister of Romania in 1870.

Life

Early life

Born in the Golescu family of boyars in Bucharest, Wallachia, he was the cousin of the brothers Ștefan and

Nicolae Golescu Nicolae Golescu (1810–1877) was a Wallachian Romanian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania in 1860 and May–November 1868.James Chastain (2004). ''Golescu Brothers''. Ohio University https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/dh/golesb.ht ...

; Alexandru G. was often referred to as Alexandru Golescu Negru (''Golescu the Black''), to distinguish him from his relative and fellow activist Alexandru C. Golescu (who was known as "Albu" – ''the White''). Alexandru G. Golescu studied at the

Saint Sava Academy Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest. History It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...

and then in Paris, at the '' École d'Arts et Métiers'', after which he returned to be an engineer in Wallachia. Together with

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother's ...

, Ion Ghica and Christian Tell, Golescu was a founding member of the ''Frăția'' ("Brotherhood"), a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

secret society in 1843, meant as opposition to Wallachian Prince Gheorghe Bibescu. He returned to Paris in 1845 to be a member of a revolutionary society of the Romanian students.

Revolution and later years

He took part in the

Wallachian revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought t ...

, and were members of the Revolutionary Committee formed around ''Frăția''. He was a secretary of the Provisional Government, and served as its representative in France after 14 July 1848 (in this capacity, he called for the French Second Republic's support in combating the threat of Ottoman and

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

n intervention in Wallachia). Golescu was also active in negotiating an agreement between the Hungarian government of

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

and the Transylvanian

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

forces of

Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; hu, Janku Ábrahám; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the Țara Mo ...

, but his efforts were largely unsuccessful. After the revolution in Bucharest was crushed, Ghica remained in exile until 1856, when, after Russian presence had been swept by the effects of the Crimean War he returned to campaign for the unification of Wallachia and Moldavia, which was successful in 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected '' Domnitor'' of the two

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...

. He later served several times as minister and once, for only half a year, as Prime Minister under Prince Carol. He died at his estate in

Rusănești Rusănești is a commune in Olt County, Oltenia, 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 Bulgar ...

, Olt County.

Works

*''Die politische Stellung der Roumänen'', Vienna, 1848 *''De l'abolition du servage dans les Principautés Danubiennes'', Paris, 1856

External links

''Golescu-Negru''
by James Chastain, 19 October 2004, at the Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golescu, Alexandru G. 1819 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Bucharest Saint Sava National College alumni People of the Principality of Wallachia Alexandru G. Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian Ministers of Interior Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Diplomats from Bucharest Romanian revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848 Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni