Gheorghe Băgulescu (November 1, 1886 – November 26, 1963) 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 ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, writer and art collector. He served as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

from 1934 to 1939. From 1941 to 1943, he was Ambassador to Tokyo and

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, as well as Military Attaché to Tokyo. Băgulescu was born in

Flămânda Prundu is a Commune in Romania, commune located in Giurgiu County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Prundu and Puieni. Some 300 m from the Danube, there was also a hamlet called ''Flămânda'', inhabited by some 30 Boyash and 5- ...

, a hamlet in

Teleorman County Teleorman County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical region Muntenia, with its capital city at Alexandria. The name ''Teleorman'' is of Cumanic ( Turkic) origin. It literally means ''crazy forest'' ...

. After having fought in

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 ...

in a

Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places: Romania * Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County * Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County * Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County * Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș C ...

unit as a captain, he was decorated in 1918 with the "

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wor ...

" 3rd class, together with 14 other soldiers of the same unit. He was appointed as military attaché of Romania to the Japanese Empire (1935–1939) and ambassador of Romania to Japan,

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

, and

(1941–1943). In 1939, the Japanese Emperor awarded him the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

, 3rd class, after the publication of his book ''Japanese Soul''. After the war, he emigrated to southern France, and materially supported the Romanian National Committee and general

Nicolae Rădescu Nicolae Rădescu (; 30 March 1874 – 16 May 1953) was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-communist rule Prime Minister of Romania, serving from 7 December 1944 to 1 March 1945. Biography Early life and education T ...

. He died in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in 1963. In 1973, the

Romanian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture of Romania ( ro, Ministerul Culturii) is one of the ministries of the Government of Romania. The current position holder is Lucian Romașcanu from the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The ''Romanian National Institute of His ...

acquired a valuable collection of Japanese and Chinese art from general Gheorghe Băgulescu's estate for the

Romanian National Art Museum The National Museum of Art of Romania ( ro, Muzeul Național de Artă al României) is located in the Royal Palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest. It features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international ...

References

Romanian Land Forces generals 1886 births 1963 deaths People from Teleorman County Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian military personnel of World War II Ambassadors of Romania to Japan Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class Military attachés Romanian emigrants to France {{Romania-mil-bio-stub