Mihai Popovici (21 October 1879 – 7 May 1966) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

-born Romanian politician. Born in Brașov, he studied at the local Romanian high school and then at the universities of Budapest and Vienna, earning an undergraduate degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and a doctorate in law. He belonged to the Romanian National Party (PNR) and was active as an opinion journalist. After the PNR merged with the Peasants' Party in 1926 to form the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ), he became vice president of the new organization.Grigore and Șerbu, p. 231 In 1916, when the Romanian Old Kingdom entered World War I, he enlisted in the Romanian Army and helped organize the

Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia The Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia ( ro, Corpul Voluntarilor români din Rusia), or Volunteer Corps of Transylvanians-Bukovinians (''Corpul Voluntarilor ardeleni-bucovineni'', ''Corpul Voluntarilor transilvăneni și bucovineni''), was a milit ...

. He belonged to the national committee of Romanian emigrants from Austria-Hungary, set up at

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

in January 1918. That December, he took part in the assembly at Alba Iulia that approved the union of Transylvania with Romania. Popovici was subsequently elected to the temporary ruling authority in the province, the Directing Council. In 1919, he was elected to the Assembly of Deputies, in the first parliament of Greater Romania. During the following decade, he held two ministerial posts: Public Works (December 1919-March 1920) and

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

(January 1927, November 1928-October 1929). He was among the PNȚ supporters of bringing Prince Carol, who had renounced his succession rights, to the

Romanian throne 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 Romanian ...

. In 1926-1927, together with other prominent politicians, he visited Carol in Paris, urging him to take the throne. Popovici served as

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 7 to 8 June 1930, in the cabinet of Gheorghe Mironescu that was charged by the regency acting on behalf of the minor

King Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

with overseeing Carol's assumption of power. He subsequently held two more portfolios: Finance (June–October 1930, October 1930-April 1931) and Justice (October 1931-January 1933, January–November 1933). Popovici remained close to the king as the latter became increasingly authoritarian, and during the

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...

regime promised him the PNȚ would not stand in his way. He took part in the 29–30 August 1940 session of the Crown Council that approved the cession of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

to Hungary. PNȚ leader Iuliu Maniu proposed Popovici as a minister in the subsequent government of

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 ...

, which the latter declined. In August 1947, in the wake of the

Tămădău Affair The Tămădău affair ( ro, Afacerea Tămădău, ''Înscenarea de la Tămădău'' – "the Tămădău frameup" – or ''Fuga de la Tămădău'' – "the Tămădău flight") was an incident that took place in Romania in the summer of 1947. It was t ...

and shortly before the establishment of a communist regime, he was arrested and incarcerated at Sighet prison. Released in July 1955, he died in Bucharest in 1966.Grigore and Șerbu, p. 233

Romulus Rusan Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

"Elitele Unirii exterminate în închisori"
'' Revista 22'', November 25, 2008

Notes

References

*Constantin Grigore and Miliana Șerbu,
Miniștrii de interne (1862–2007)
', Editura Ministerului Internelor și Reformei Administrative, Bucharest, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Popovici, Mihai 1879 births 1966 deaths People from Brașov Ethnic Romanian politicians in Transylvania Andrei Șaguna National College (Brașov) alumni Eötvös Loránd University alumni Romanian opinion journalists Romanian military personnel of World War I National Peasants' Party politicians 20th-century Romanian politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian Ministers of Interior Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian Ministers of Public Works Romanian Ministers of Transport Romanian Ministers of Justice Romanian prisoners and detainees Inmates of Sighet prison