The cabinet of

Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Life and politics Goga was born in Rășinari, near Sibiu. Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalisti ...

was the government of

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 ...

from December 29, 1937 to 10 February 10, 1938.

The Goga cabinet and the King

When the National Liberal Party lost the elections in December 1938,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

appointed Goga

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 s ...

, although the

National Christian Party The National Christian Party ( ro, Partidul Național Creștin) was a radical-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Part ...

had obtained only 9.15% of the votes for the house. Carol II expected the government to be transitional, allowing him to get rid of the party system. He wrote in his diary that he was conscious that the government would not last long and that, after its collapse, he would be able to free his country and himself from the tyranny and the petty interests of the parties. This calculation proved correct. However, the King miscalculated the impact of the

Anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

measures of the Goga cabinet, which he had to deal with throughout his personal

regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...

(the so-called royal dictatorship) that he established on February 10, 1938. The Goga cabinet stripped the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

of their

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, limited their right to work, and simply harassed them through its anti-Semitic measures, in an effort to gain the support of the electors of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

, another anti-Semitic movement and the rival of both the National Christian Party and the king. As a result, the Goga cabinet damaged the Romanian economy and the relations with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

and strengthened the Iron Guard. Its revision of the Romanian citizenship, as implemented by King Carol II's personal regime, denaturalised 225,222 Jews, i.e., approximately 30% of the population of Jewish faith.

King Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of t ...

first pushed towards a victory of the government in the snap elections in March 1938, which he had called on January 18, 1938. However, he soon abandoned Goga, preparing a coup together with the minister of the Interior

Armand Călinescu Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th Prime Minister from March 1939 until his assassination six months later. He was a staunch opponent of the fascist Iron Guard and m ...

, a former member of the

National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...

, who acted as a guarantee for the king in the government. The coup was probably precipitated when Goga negotiated an electoral agreement with

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion ...

, the leader of the

, on February 8, 1938, thus posing a considerable threat to the king's power. On February 9, 1938, Carol II, Călinescu and the former National Liberal Prime Minister

Gheorghe Tătărescu : ''For the artist, see Gheorghe Tattarescu.'' Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (also known as ''Guță Tătărescu'', with a slightly antiquated pet form of his given name; 2 November 1886 – 28 March 1957) was a Romanian politician who served twice as P ...

set the coup for the next day. On February 10, 1938, Carol II received Goga and told him to postpone the snap elections, whereupon Goga resigned.

Ministers

The ministers of the cabinet were as follows:Stelian Neagoe - "Istoria guvernelor României de la începuturi - 1859 până în zilele noastre - 1995" (Ed. Machiavelli, Bucharest, 1995) *President of the Council of Ministers: :*

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of the Interior: :*

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Foreign Affairs: :*

Istrate Micescu Istrate N. Micescu (22 May 1881 – 22 May 1951) was a Romanian lawyer, Law and Political Science professor at the University of Bucharest's Law Department, and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. Early life Mices ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Finance: :* Eugen Savu (29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Justice: :* Vasile Rădulescu-Mehedinți (29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of National Defence: :*Gen.

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 ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Air and Marine: :*

Radu Irimescu Radu Irimescu (December 9, 1890 – May 1975) was a Romanian businessman, politician, and diplomat. The son of an admiral, Irimescu joined the Romanian Navy and, being first in his class, was sent to Germany, as a pre-World War I Romanian-Ge ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Agriculture and Property :*(interim) Virgil Potârcă (29 December 1937 - 8 January 1938) :*(interim) D.R. Ioanițescu (8 January - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Industry and Commerce: :*

Ion Gigurtu Ion Gigurtu (; 24 June 1886 – 24 November 1959) was a far-right Romanian politician, Land Forces officer, engineer and industrialist who served a brief term as Prime Minister from 4 July to 4 September 1940, under the personal regime of King Car ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Public Works and Communications: :* Virgil Potârcă (29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of National Education: :*

Ion Petrovici Ion (Ioan) Petrovici (June 14, 1882 – February 17, 1972) was a Romanian professor of philosophy at the University of Iași and titular member of the Romanian Academy. He served as Minister of National Education in the Goga cabinet and Ministe ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Religious Affairs and the Arts: :*

Ioan Lupaș Ioan Lupaș (9 August 1880 – 3 July 1967) was a Romanian historian, academic, politician, Orthodox theologian and priest. He was a member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Lupaș was born in Szelistye, now Săliște, Sibiu County (at the time ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Labour: :* Gheorghe A. Cuza (29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Health and Social Security :*

Gheorghe Banu Gheorghe Banu (23 March 1889—15 August 1957) was a Romanian hygienist and politician who served as Health Minister in the Octavian Goga government from 12 December 1937 to 10 February 1938. He was a leading promoter of eugenics among academics ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Minister of Cooperation: :*

Stan Ghițescu Stan Ghițescu (June 2, 1881 – February 25, 1952) was a Romanian politician. Born in Mârzănești, Teleorman County, Cicerone Ionițoiu"Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar G"/ref> he atten ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) *Ministers of State: :* Alexandru C. Cuza (29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938) :*

Silviu Dragomir Silviu may refer to: * Silviu Bălace (born 1978), Romanian football player * Silviu Berejan (1927–2007), Bessarabian writer from Moldova and member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova * Silviu Bindea (1912–1992), Romanian football player *Si ...

(29 December 1937 - 10 February 1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goga Cabinets of Romania Cabinets established in 1937 Cabinets disestablished in 1938 1937 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania