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Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was
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 ...
five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, 1884–1887, 1890–1893 and 1894–1895). He was the older brother and associate of Pantazi Ghica, a prolific writer and politician.


Early life and Revolution

He was born in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
,
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and sou ...
, to the prominent
Ghica The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were se ...
family, and was the nephew of both Grigore Alexandru Ghica (who was to become
Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...
of Wallachia in the 1840s and 1850s) and
Ion Câmpineanu An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
, a ''
Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and R ...
''-inspired
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...
. His father was Dimitrie (Tache) Ghica and his mother – Maria née Câmpineanu. Ion Ghica was educated in Bucharest and in Western Europe, studying engineering and mathematics in Mine School of Paris (France) from 1837 to 1840. After finishing his studies in Paris, he left for
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
and was involved in the failed ''Frăția'' ("Brotherhood") conspiracy of 1848, which was intended to bring about the union of Wallachia and Moldavia under one native Romanian leader, Prince Mihai Sturdza. Ion Ghica became a professor on geology and mineralogy and later professor on political economy at the Academia Mihăileană which was founded by the same Prince Sturdza in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, 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 Western M ...
(future University of Iași). He is considered the first great Roumanian economist. He joined the Wallachian revolutionary camp, and, in the name of the
Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
then established in Bucharest, went to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
to approach the Ottoman Imperial government; he, Nicolae Bălcescu, and General Gheorghe Magheru were instrumental in mediating negotiations between the
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...
n Romanian leader
Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; hu, Janku Ábrahám; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the Țara M ...
and the Hungarian Revolutionary government of
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, polit ...
.


Prince of Samos

While in Istanbul, he was appointed Bey (governor) of
Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separa ...
(1854–1859), where he proved his leadership skills by extirpating local
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
(most of which was aimed at transports supplying the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
). After completing the task, Ghica was awarded the honorary title of ''Bey of Samos'' by
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Abd-ul-Mejid I in 1856.


Political career in Romania

In 1859, after the union of Moldavia and Walachia had been effected, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza asked Ion Ghica to return. Later (1866), despite being trusted by Prince Cuza, Ghica took active part in the secret grouping that secured Cuza's overthrow. He was the first prime minister under Prince of Romania (afterwards
King of Romania The King of Romania ( Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Roman ...
) Carol of Hohenzollern. In 1866, Ghica became the first chairman of the newly established Bank of Romania. He is also noted as one of the first major
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
figures in the
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romania ...
, and one of the leaders of the incipient
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...
. His group's radicalism, with its boyar leadership that had engineered the defunct Revolution, surfaced as
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. ...
whenever Carol approached the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
; Ghica joined the anti-dynastic movement of 1870–1871 that had surfaced with the Republic of Ploiești. The matter of the Liberals' loyalty was ultimately settled 1876, with the exceptionally long Liberal Ministry of Ion Brătianu. In 1881, Ghica was appointed Romanian Minister in London, an office he retained until 1889; he died in Ghergani,
Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (also spelt ''Dîmbovița'', ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It has an area of ...
.


Works

Beside his political distinction, Ion Ghica earned a literary reputation by writing his ''Letters'', addressed to Vasile Alecsandri, his lifelong friend. Conceived and written during his residency in London, the letters depict the ancestral stage of Romanian society, as it appeared to be fading away. He was also the author of ''Amintiri din pribegie'' ("Recollections from Exile"), in 1848, and of ''Convorbiri Economice'' ("Conversations on Economics"), dealing with major economic issues. He was the first to advocate the favoring of local initiatives over foreign investments in industry and commerce – to a certain extent, this took the form of
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...
(a characteristic of the Liberal Party throughout the coming period, and until
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 opposing ...
).


Footnotes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghica, Ion 1816 births 1897 deaths Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest Ion National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Political people from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from Bucharest Romanian people of the Crimean War People of the Revolutions of 1848 Presidents of the Romanian Academy Prime Ministers of the Principality of Wallachia Prime Ministers of the Principality of Moldavia Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Romanian Ministers of Interior Ambassadors of Romania to the United Kingdom 19th-century Romanian economists Romanian essayists Romanian mathematicians Romanian memoirists Romanian revolutionaries Romanian sociologists Princes of Samos 19th-century rulers in Europe 19th-century memoirists