Grigore Balș (d. 1895) was a

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

n-born

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n politician. Born into an old

n ''

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

'' family, the son of a

logothete Logothete (, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. , pl. ''logothetae''; ; ; ; , ''logotet'') was an administrative title originating in the eastern Roman Empire. In the middle and late Byzantine Empire, it rose to become ...

, Balș was active in the movement for the

Union of the Principalities The unification of Moldavia and Wallachia (), also known as the unification of the Romanian Principalities () or as the Little Union (), happened in 1859 following the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince of both the Principality of Moldavi ...

. In 1858, he edited ''Constituționalul'' magazine at

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, taking a pro-union line. He was part of the first Moldavian government following the achievement of this objective with the election of

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'' (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as List of monarchs of Moldavia ...

as ''

domnitor ''Prince Domnitor'', in full ''Principe Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Principi Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, ...

'' in early 1859, serving as Finance Minister under Vasile Sturdza from January to March that year. He was then Foreign Minister in the cabinet of

Manolache Costache Epureanu Manolache Costache Epureanu (; 1823–1880) was twice the Prime Minister of Romania both as a representative of the Conservative Party and of the National Liberal Party, more specifically for the first time in 1870 (20 April–14 December) and ...

from November 1859 to March 1860. After the political union of Moldavia with

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, in January 1862, Balș was named to the first government encompassing all Romania. Within the cabinet of

Barbu Catargiu Barbu Catargiu (; 26 October 1807 – ) was a conservative Romanian politician and journalist. He was the first Prime Minister of Romania, in 1862, until he was assassinated on 20 June that year. He was a staunch defender of the great estates o ...

, he was Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Instruction for several days in January. He was then reshuffled to become

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, remaining until March. Following the advent of constitutional monarchy in 1866, he was elected

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

(1866) and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

(1867). He served as Assembly President from November 1869 to May 1870. In 1880, he signed the founding statute of the Conservative Party. Dinu C. Giurescu, ''Dicționar biografic de istorie a României'', p. 48. Bucharest: Editura Meronia, 2008.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bals, Grigore 1895 deaths Grigore Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians Ministers of education of Romania Ministers of finance of Romania Government ministers of the Principality of Moldavia Romanian magazine editors 19th-century Moldavian people