Dimitrie Lecca (2 December 1832–4 July 1888) was a

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 Centr ...

n-born

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 officer and politician.

Biography

Born in

Tecuci Tecuci () is a municipiu, city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mără ...

, he was the son of '' paharnic'' (royal cup-bearer) Gheorghe Lecca (said to be a descendant of Leca of Cătun) and of Maria Negură; he had a sister, Ruxandra, and two brothers, Ioan and

Gheorghe Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu * Gheorghe Albu * Gheorghe Alexandrescu * Gheorghe Andriev * Gheorghe Apostol ...

. He studied at the École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

and at the in

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...

from 1852 to 1853. After returning home, he entered the Moldavian Army, soon to become the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

, and was made a major in 1863. He commanded the elite battalion that guarded the princely palace 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 ...

on the night of 22 February 1866. In cahoots with the conspirators against ''

domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn'' ...

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Janua ...

, he allowed into the palace the officers who forced the ruler's abdication. Lecca served as

War Minister 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 so ...

immediately afterward, from February to May 1866, under

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, ...

. Promoted colonel in 1868, he resigned from the army in 1872 and entered politics. A member of the National Liberal Party founded in 1875, he was elected to the Assembly of Deputies in 1876. He returned to service to fight in the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

, again serving as War Minister under Ion C. Brătianu from July 1879 to April 1880. Lecca was Assembly President twice: October 1882 to March 1883, and October 1883 until his death at Radomirești in July 1888.Ion Mamina, ''Monarhia constituțională în România'', pp. 399-400. Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedică, 2000. He was buried in the village's Dealu Mare Church; years later, Lecca's tomb was desecrated by the communist authorities, who had it covered with a floor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecca, Dimitrie 1832 births 1888 deaths People from Tecuci People of the Principality of Moldavia Romanian Land Forces officers Romanian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Romanian Ministers of Defence National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)