Ion V. Gruia (November 14, 1895–November 14, 1952) 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 ...

n jurist who briefly served in government in 1940. Born in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, he obtained a doctorate in law and practiced as a lawyer. He was also a professor of constitutional and administrative law at the law faculty of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, where he became dean in 1941. He was a member of the Assembly of Deputies. He served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

in two cabinets during the summer of 1940: under

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 ...

from July 4 to September 4, and under

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 ...

from September 4 to 14, until the establishment of the

National Legionary State The National Legionary State was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led by ...

. While minister, Gruia helped introduce an anti-Jewish law. Taking up a discourse articulated by eugenicist Petru Râmneanțu in 1935, he declared in a statement published on August 9, "We consider Romanian blood as a fundamental element in the founding of the Nation." He proceeded to invoke historical motives and "the realities of Romania" in order to justify the law, which banned Jews from owning rural properties, using Romanian names or marrying ethnic Romanians; segregating Jews in schools and dismissing all Jewish state employees within three to six months (a process that had already begun in July).Liviu Cărare, "Evreii din românia între 1938–1940. De la statutul de cetățean la cel de paria", in Attila Gidó, István Horváth, Judit Pál (eds.), ''140 de ani de legislație minoritară în Europa Centrală și de Est'', pp. 221-22. Bucharest: Editura ISPMN, 2010. Removed from teaching in 1948, shortly after the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

was established, he was arrested in 1949. In 1950, he was sent to

Sighet Prison The Sighet prison, located in the city of Sighetu Marmației, Maramureș County, Romania, was used by Romania to hold criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners. It is now the site of the Sighet Memorial Museum, part of the Memorial ...

, where he died two years later.

Notes

References

*Stelian Neagoe, ''Istoria guvernelor României''. Bucharest: Editura Machiavelli, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruia, Ion 1895 births 1952 deaths People from Roman, Romania 20th-century Romanian lawyers Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian Ministers of Justice Inmates of Sighet prison Prisoners who died in Securitate custody Romanian people who died in prison custody