Radu Irimescu (December 9, 1890 – May 1975) 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 businessman, politician, and diplomat.
The son of an admiral, Irimescu joined the
Romanian Navy
The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
History
The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flot ...
and, being first in his class, was sent to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, as a pre-
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Romanian-German convention provided. Based in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, he was a cadet in the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
and, again at the head of his class, was appointed a German naval officer, serving two years on a
man of war, then being obliged to return to Romania.
Admiral von Tirpitz himself held Irimescu in high esteem. However, he became dissatisfied with his career in the Romanian Navy: after cruising the world on a German man of war, commanding a
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...
or a
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
was not very attractive to him and he left the navy after two years. He was then granted leave to attend courses at the
Royal Technical College of Charlottenburg, from where he graduated with excellent marks.
During World War I, Major Irimescu served in the
Romanian Air Corps
The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) ( ro, Corpul de Aviație) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinat ...
and showed great skill as a pilot and as an organizer. He received a degree in
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1920.
After the war,
Jean Chrissoveloni, a
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 ...
banker, tasked Irimescu with organizing the
Chrissoveloni Bank in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He ran the bank from 1921 to 1928, successfully closing the branch because he sensed a financial crisis coming and because operating a foreign bank tended to be unprofitable because more burdensome business regulations were placed on such institutions. At the time, it was the only Romanian
banking institution
Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...
in the United States. After it closed on April 1, 1928, Irimescu, formerly agent and manager, stayed on for a time as its representative on
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
.
When
Queen Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parent ...
attended a luncheon in New York on October 22, 1926, Irimescu heaped praise upon his host country: "It is natural...that Romania should look today to America for good will and cooperation...The wealth and resources of America are stupendous. Her leadership and influence in the affairs of the world are paramount today. Her prosperity is well established and well deserved...Let us...express the wish for the continuous prosperity of the United States of America and that of the entire civilized world."
Upon his return to Romania, Irimescu, an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, was appointed director of the Gas and Electricity Works of Bucharest. In August 1932, he was named State Undersecretary of the Air in the
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod or Vaida-Voievod (27 February 1872 – 19 March 1950) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician who was a supporter and promoter of the Union of Transylvania with Romania, union of Transylvania (before 1920 part of ...
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...
cabinet, with the expectation that he would upgrade and modernize his branch of the military. From 1936 to 1938, he served as Minister of the Air and Navy. Additionally, he served as interim
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
for a week in August–September 1937, in
Gheorghe Tătărescu
: ''For the artist, see Gheorghe Tattarescu.''
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (also known as ''Guță Tătărescu'', with a slightly antiquated pet form of his given name; 2 November 1886 – 28 March 1957) was a Romanian politician who served twice as P ...
's
National Liberal Party cabinet.
In 1938 Irimescu was appointed
Minister to the United States. This drew some concern from the
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
History
The AJCongress was ...
, as he had served in the recent
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 ...
cabinet, which passed
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
legislation.
Augustine Lonergan
Augustine Lonergan (May 20, 1874October 18, 1947) was a U.S. Senator and Representative from Connecticut. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a senator from 1933 to 1939.
Biography
Lonergan was born in Thompson, Connecticut, ...
,
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, forwarded these concerns to
Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
. However, Hull reassured him, noting that as an aviation expert, Irimescu had served in all cabinets since that of Vaida-Voevod, regardless of party, and that he himself belonged to no party. He also mentioned that Irimescu had an American wife. The new envoy arrived in the United States with his wife on April 7, 1938, being greeted by a number of
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
, including his brother Ştefan (1894-1967), active in the community. Upon his arrival he declared, "As far as I know, there is no anti-Semitism in Romania that deserves any special discussion or notice."
Also in 1938, some three months after Queen Marie died, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine printed a wry article claiming, for instance, that "she had long since been forgiven by most Rumanians for her endorsements of face creams, her exuberant U.S. junket, and the fact that in the end most of her dowagerish intrigues gained nothing for Rumania." The next month, an offended Irimescu asked in the magazine, "Has not this great Lady done anything in Her life to justify a favorable comment on your part?" To his observation that "
De mortuis nil nisi bonum
The Latin phrase (also ) "Of the dead, aynothing but good", abbreviated as , is a mortuary aphorism, indicating that it is socially inappropriate to speak ill of the dead as they are unable to justify themselves.
The full sentence () translate ...
", ''Times editors replied: "De mortuis nil hokum."
As might be expected for an ambassador, Irimescu expressed public support for the royal dictatorship established by
King 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 t ...
(''see
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 ...
''). For instance, in a speech given at a social event on November 26, 1938, he proclaimed that "the last twenty years of experimentation with the so-called
democratic regime has shown that political parties could and would act against public interest", claiming that the new system was based on an idea "of organization, of order against chaos, of a regime of social harmony wherein the source of rights is work and one's fulfillment of one's civic obligations, and not the exploitation of the community for personal interest and rapid enrichment." He lauded the
new constitution adopted in 1938, which he said "sets up an equilibrium between liberty and authority...regulates the exercise of
ivicrights for the public good...insures...a disciplined liberty" and "disposes once and for all of partisan politics and libertine democracy." He repeated similar sentiments when the constitution's second anniversary was celebrated on March 3, 1940: "The entire development of Romania in the last two years is wholly the outcome of the new Constitution."
On April 9, 1943, Irimescu wrote a letter to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' responding to criticism that Carol Davila, former Romanian Minister to the United States, had levelled against him in that newspaper. Irimescu denied having represented 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 ...
, claiming that as the King abdicated, he heard a
Romanian Radio
The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company ( ro, Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune), informally referred to as Radio Romania ( ro, Radio România), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM broadcasting, FM and AM broadcasting, ...
broadcast from Bucharest that
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 ...
had dismissed him; he wrote that he received a telegram from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania the next day informing him of his dismissal and giving him until October 15, 1940, to pass on his account books to his successor. He stated that at the same time as his dismissal, all his property in Romania, "including bank accounts, securities, real estate" and furniture was confiscated, and that "Antonescu and his
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...
cronies have persecuted me relentlessly." As evidence of his "democratic ideals" he presented the fact that he became an
American citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
in November 1941. Regarding the
ongoing war, he opined that "Only a sincere cooperation of the democracies and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
can rebuild the world."
Irimescu lived the rest of his life in the United States. In 1955, he was working for
Floyd Odlum
Floyd Bostwick Odlum (March 30, 1892 – June 17, 1976) was an American lawyer and industrialist. He has been described as "possibly the only man in the United States who made a great fortune out of the Depression".
Life and career
After strug ...
's Atlas Corporation. That January, he attended a Motor Boat Show, buying a chrome-trimmed, 55-m.p.h. Coronado speedboat for about
$5,500, ten minutes after the doors opened.
[Sailor's Delight]
, ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' January 24, 1955.
References
Bibliography
*"Rumanian Minister Trained in New York", ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 28, 1932.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irimescu, Radu
1890 births
1975 deaths
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Romanian Air Corps officers
Ambassadors of Romania to the United States
20th-century Romanian businesspeople
20th-century Romanian engineers
Romanian expatriates in the United States
Romanian military personnel of World War I
Romanian World War I pilots
Romanian Naval Forces officers
Romanian Ministers of Defence
20th-century American businesspeople