Basile M. Missir (17 July 1843 – 21 April 1929) 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 lawyer and politician.

Early life

Born in

Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Cur ...

, he came from a prominent

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family that included

Petru Th. Missir Petru Th. Missir (October 8, 1856–June 10, 1929) was a Romanian literary critic, journalist and jurist. Born in Roman into a family of ethnic Armenian merchants, he graduated from Iași's National College in 1873. While a student at the Univer ...

and Basile's nephew Ioan Missir. Victor Durnea
"Un scriitor adevărat: Ioan Missir"
in “Revista română”, year XI, nr. 1 (39), March 2005, p. 17 He enrolled in the law faculty of

Iași University 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 Mi ...

in 1860, later earning his degree from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

.Stan Stoica, Dinu C. Giurescu, ''Dicționar biografic de istorie a României'', p. 382. Bucharest: Editura Meronia, 2008. Entering the magistracy, he became a prosecutor in 1869 and chief prosecutor later the same year, at the

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs ...

tribunal 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 of ...

. In 1870, he was hired as a prosecutor at the appeals court in the same city. From 1872 to 1874, no longer a magistrate, he was state's attorney at the

High Court of Cassation and Justice The High Court of Cassation and Justice ( ro, Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de Cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of c ...

Political activity

After joining the National Liberal Party, he was

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Brăila County Brăila County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Brăila. Demographics In 2011, Brăila had a population of 304,925 and the population density was 64/km2. * Romanians – 98% * Romani, Russians, Lipo ...

from 1877 to 1878. From 1880 to 1889, he was state's attorney for the Bucharest tribunals. In 1896, he entered the dissident ''drapelist'' faction, but rejoined the main party in 1899. Meanwhile, he was elected to the Assembly of Deputies in 1897. From February 1901 to July 1902, he was Agriculture and Domains Minister under

Dimitrie Sturdza Dimitrie Sturdza (, in full Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza-Miclăușanu; 10 March 183321 October 1914) was a Romanian statesman and author of the late 19th century, and president of the Romanian Academy between 1882 and 1884. Biography Born in Iași ...

. He initiated a 1902 law regulating labor relations, particularly in small industry. He served as Assembly president from December 1909 to February 1910. Two important laws were adopted during this period: one banned many categories of workers from striking, while another established popular banks. In 1914, he rose to the Senate, where he also served as

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 ...

from that February until December 1916.Ion Mamina, ''Monarhia constituțională în România'', p. 404. Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedică, 2000.

Family

His wife came from the '' boyar'' Vrăbiescu family; the couple's daughter Julietta married

Scarlat Cantacuzino Scarlat A. Cantacuzino (June 6, 1874 – August 8, 1949) was a Romanian poet, essayist and diplomat. Early life and education Born in Bucharest to the magistrate Adolf Cantacuzino and his wife Ecaterina (''née'' Iarca), he was a scion of the Cant ...

in 1912.Mihai Sorin Rǎdulescu, ''Genealogia românească'', p. 216. Bucharest: Editura Istros, 2000.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missir, Basile 1843 births 1929 deaths People from Focșani Romanian people of Armenian descent University of Paris alumni 19th-century Romanian lawyers Romanian prosecutors Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Presidents of the Senate of Romania Romanian Ministers of Agriculture Prefects of Romania National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians