Barbu Catargiu (26 October 1807 – ) was a conservative

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, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n politician and journalist. He was the first

Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Guvernului României, link=no), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was ...

, in 1862, until he was assassinated on 20 June that year. He was a staunch defender of the great estates of the

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars wer ...

Keith Hitchins Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history. He was born in Schenect ...

, ''The Romanians 1774–1866'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), p. 302. and notably originated the conservative doctrine that "

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in Romania had never existed".Maria Nikolaeva Todorova, ''Balkan Identities: Nation and Memory'' (New York: NYU Press, 2004), p. 289

Early life

Barbu Catargiu was born on 26 October 1807 to Ștefan Catargiu, a political activist and Țița (Stanca) Văcărescu. He lived abroad in Paris from 1825 to 1834, where he studied law, history, and philosophy. He returned to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

for a short time, and was a member of the Obsteasca Assembly of Wallachia. An opponent of violence and armed revolution, he resumed his world travels during the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, working primarily as a journalist and making a documentary.

Political life

After his return to Romania, Catargiu entered political life as a firm conservative. He believed that evolution, rather than violent revolution was the best way to modernize the Government, and would give the fledgling Romania the best chance at unity. He also advocated an aristocratic republic as the best form of governance, clearly believing in guarding the power of the boyars. Catargiu was appointed to the position of minister of finances by

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Janua ...

. He quickly gained acclaim for his oratorical skills, and became the focal point of the Conservative Party. He did very little to actually organize the party, instead depending on his own charisma and ideals to give the party focus. Cuza, despite not agreeing with the conservative doctrine and even seeing Catargiu as an adversary of sorts,Robert William Seton Watson, ''A History of the Roumanians, From Roman Times to the Completion of Unity'' (Hamden, Conn: Archon Books, 1963), p. 306. recognized his abilities and the power of his followers and chose Catargiu as prime minister of the newly formed union between Wallachia and Moldavia. On 15 February 1862, Catargiu was sworn in as the first prime minister of Romania, ruling from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. As prime minister, Catargiu hoped to reorganize and simplify the administration. He formed four administrative divisions, two in what had been Wallachia and two in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

. He placed the four divisions under the supervision of a minister of the interior, and unified the financial and judicial departments under the central government. Arguably the most important act of his rule was his order to begin a railroad in Moldavia that would link the two provinces and greatly aided unification. He also continued his support for the "old order" and claimed that large estates were historically sanctioned and were solely the property of the boyars. He also clamped down on rioting in the cities, censored the press, and refused to allow large assemblies to meet. He denied the right of the people to meet on the Bucharest "Field of Liberty" to commemorate the Revolution of 1848, an act which garnered him much animosity.

Assassination

One week after the "Field of Liberty" Incident, on 20 June 1862, Catargiu was shot and killed at close range when leaving a parliamentary meeting. The

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

was never apprehended, despite the efforts of the police force. The killing left the Conservative Party without a strong leader or sense of direction. They quickly lost power, as Catargiu was replaced by

Nicolae Crețulescu Nicolae Crețulescu (, surname also spelled Kretzulescu; 1 March 1812 – 26 June 1900) was a Wallachian, later Romanian politician and physician. He served two terms as Prime Minister of Romania: from 1862 to 1863, and from 1865 to 1866. He was ...

, a much more progressive politician. Despite Catargiu's relative unpopularity, his memory was celebrated by the Romanians. A statue of him was placed opposite the Bibescu Vodă Park in Bucharest, near the Metropolitan Tower, close to where he was killed. It stood from 1900 until 1984; in 2001, it was restored, albeit without the original pedestal.

1862 Cabinet

During his premiership Catargiu's cabinet consisted of: * Constantin N. Brăiloiu/

Dimitrie Cornea Dimitrie Cornea (1816–1884) was the Minister of Justice during the Barbu Catargiu cabinet, from 22 January to 24 June 1862, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 4 April 1876 until 26 April 1876 during the existence of United Principalities T ...

(

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

) *Alexandru Moruzi/ Grigore Balș/Alexandru Catargi/Theodor Ghica ( Finance) *

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, ...

(

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

) * Apostol Arsache ( Foreign Affairs) *Barbu Catargiu/Dimitrie Cornea/ Alexandru Florescu (

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

) *Barbu Catargiu/Apostol Arsache ( Interior) * Grigore Balș/ Barbu Bellu (Religion and Public Instruction) *Apostol Arsache/ Alexandru Florescu (Control)

References

External links

Romanian Language Biography
*Romanian List of Notable Assassination Attempts {{DEFAULTSORT:Catargiu, Barbu 1807 births 1862 deaths Assassinated heads of government Assassinated Romanian politicians Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians Deaths by firearm in Romania Male murder victims People murdered in Romania Politicians from Bucharest Prime Ministers of Romania Prime Ministers of the Principality of Wallachia Romanian Ministers of Interior Unsolved murders in Romania