David Popescu (25 May 1886 – 11 April 1955) was a Romanian general during World War II and

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in 1940.

Biography

He was born in 1886 in Comarnic,

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mos ...

, Kingdom of Romania, the son of Iulian (a priest) and Maria. He attended primary school in his hometown, and then went to the in Ploiești. He started military service in 1905, advancing to sergeant by 1906. After attending the Military School for Infantry and Cavalry Officers, he graduated in 1908 with the rank of second lieutenant; after further studies at the Special Infantry School, he was promoted to captain in 1912. In 1913 he fought with the 7th Regiment Vânători de munte in the Second Balkan War. Once 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 ...

in August 2016, Popescu fought in Dobruja as a battalion commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment. He was wounded in action and sent to a hospital 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 ...

for treatment. Promoted to major in 1917, he spent the rest of the war instructing cadets in Iași and

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. ...

. From 1921 to 1922, Popescu attended the Military Academy of Turin. After advancing in rank to lieutenant colonel in 1925, Popescu served as instructor 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 ...

, and then as

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

in Rome from 1928 to 1930. During that period he was awarded the Order of the Crown (Romania), Knight rank and the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

, Officer rank. He was promoted to colonel in 1930, and brigadier general in 1938. He commanded the Guards Brigade from 1937 to 1939, after which he became the Deputy Chief of the General Staff and served as director of the National Military Circle, February–March 1939. Popescu served as the Minister of Internal Affairs in the

Gigurtu cabinet The cabinet of Ion Gigurtu was the government of Romania from 4 July to 4 September 1940. Ministers The ministers of the cabinet were as follows:Stelian Neagoe - "Istoria guvernelor României de la începuturi - 1859 până în zilele noastre - 1 ...

from July 4 to September 4, 1940, and in the First Antonescu cabinet from September 4 to September 14, 1940. In early July he helped manage the flow of refugees from

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

and Northern Bukovina in the wake of the Soviet annexation of those Romanian territories. On August 30, Popescu participated in a meeting of King Carol II's Crown Council, where he was (alongside

Gheorghe Mihail Gheorghe Mihail (March 13, 1887 – January 31, 1982) was a Romanian career army officer. Born in Brăila, he completed primary school in 1902 and passed an examination to enter the school for soldiers' sons in Iași, taking years 7 and 8 there.N ...

, Nicolae Păiș, and ) one of the four out of five military representatives who recommended accepting the provisions of the Second Vienna Award, by which Romania were to cede

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

to Hungary. On January 10, 1941 he was named commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Division of the Romanian Armed Forces. On May 9, 1941 he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, Commander rank.Decretul regal nr. 1.299 din 9 mai 1944 pentru acordări de decorații, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CIX, nr. 109 din 10 mai 1941, partea I-a, p. 2.486. Romania joined Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Popescu fought with his division in Southern Bessarabia and at the Siege of Odessa. On August 20 he was removed from the command of the division, and on August 31 he was dismissed and put into the reserves.Decretul Conducătorului Statului nr. 2.554 din 12 septembrie 1941 pentru trecere în poziție de rezervă și de retragere, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CIX, nr. 219 din 16 septembrie 1941, partea I-a, pp. 5.505-5.506. After King Michael's Coup of August 23, 1944, he was rehabilitated and promoted, first to

divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

and then to army corps general. In 1946 Popescu was investigated by the Bucharest People's Tribunal in connection with

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...

's trial, but he was not arrested. After being denounced in 1950 as a "deadly enemy of communism", he was arrested and imprisoned at Jilava Prison. He was released on July 4, 1953, and acquitted of all charges. He died in Bucharest in 1955.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, David 1886 births 1955 deaths People from Comarnic Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Ministers of Interior Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian military personnel of World War I People detained by the Securitate Prisoners and detainees of Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees