Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) 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 diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and
foreign minister, and for two terms president of the General Assembly of 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 ...
(1930–32).
Early years
Titulescu was born in
Craiova, the son of a solicitor. He grew up at his father's estate in
Titulești, a commune in Romania that was later named after him. Upon graduating with honours in 1900 from the
Carol I High School in Craiova, Titulescu studied law in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, obtaining his doctorate with the thesis ''Essai sur une théorie des droits éventuels''. In 1905, Titulescu returned to Romania as a professor of law at the
University of Iași
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...
, and in 1907 he moved to
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 of ...
.
Political career
Following the Romanian elections of 1912, Titulescu became a parliamentarian with the
Conservative-Democratic Party
The Conservative-Democratic Party (, PCD) was a political party in Romania. Over the years, it had the following names: the Democratic Party, the Nationalist Conservative Party, or the Unionist Conservative Party.
The Conservative-Democratic Part ...
led by
Take Ionescu
Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...
, and five years later he became a member of the government of
Ion I. C. Brătianu as Minister of Finance.
In the summer of 1918, together with other prominent Romanians (
Take Ionescu
Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...
,
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 ...
,
Traian Vuia
Traian Vuia or Trajan Vuia (; August 17, 1872 – September 3, 1950) was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, built and tested the first tractor monoplane. He was the first to demonstrate that a flying machine could rise into the ...
,
Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille (; December 21, 1861 – February 20, 1927) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist. A Marxist for much of his life, Mille was noted for his vocal sup ...
), Titulescu formed, in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, the National Romanian Committee, with the purpose of promoting in international public opinion the right of the Romanian people to national unity, the committee being officially recognised as the plenipotentiary ''de facto'' organ of the Romanian nation.
From 1927 to 1928, Titulescu was the minister of foreign affairs.
Beginning in 1921, Titulescu functioned as the permanent representative of Romania to 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 ...
in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
. He was chosen twice (in 1930 and 1931) to be the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of that organization. In this capacity, he fought for the preservation of stable borders through the maintenance of peace, for good relations between both large and small neighboring states, for the respect of the sovereignty and equality of all nations in the international community, for collective security, and the prevention of aggression. In 1935, Titulescu was elected a titular member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
.
In June 1936, Titulescu reacted to the buffoonery exhibited by the Italian journalists when
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...
spoke to the League after
Ethiopia had been invaded and occupied by Fascist Italy. He jumped to his feet and shouted: "To the door with the savages!" ("''A la porte les sauvages!''").
[Barker, A. J., ''The Rape of Ethiopia 1936'', p. 133] Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...
described him as "tall and
mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
-like, but with splendid histrionic gestures, and obviously a comic genius of the first order".
Exile and death
Later in 1936,
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 ...
removed Titulescu from all official positions, asking him to leave the country. Settling first in
Switzerland, he later moved to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In exile, he continued in conferences and newspaper articles to propagate the idea of the preservation of peace, as he perceived the danger of the approaching war. He returned to Romania in November 1937, partly by the efforts of
Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the U ...
.
In 1937, Titulescu again left Romania and took refuge in France. At
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
, he denounced the Romanian fascist regime. In 1941, Titulescu died in Cannes following a long illness. In his will, he asked to be buried in Romania.
In 1989, after the fall of
communist Romania during the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...
, the honouring of Titulescu's request became possible. On 14 March 1992, his remains were reburied in the Sfânta Ecaterina cemetery in
Șcheii Brașovului
Șcheii Brașovului ( hu, Bolgárszeg, german: Belgerei or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in south ...
, next to
St. Nicholas Church,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
after a difficult legal procedure organized by Jean-Paul Carteron, a French attorney. He was awarded
Order of the White Eagle and other decorations.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titulescu, Nicolae
1882 births
1941 deaths
Anti-fascists
People from Craiova
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Romania
Conservative-Democratic Party politicians
Romanian Ministers of Finance
Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Romanian diplomats
Romanian Freemasons
Carol I National College alumni
University of Paris alumni
Titular members of the Romanian Academy