Gheorghe Manu (26 July 1833,

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 ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

– 16 May 1911,

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

) 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 Army general, artillery inspector and statesman. He served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

(1889–1891),

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 ...

Minister of the Interior 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 ...

, President of the Assembly of Deputies, and

Mayor of Bucharest The Mayor of Bucharest ( ro, Primarul General al Municipiului București), sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for citywide affairs, such as the water system, the ...

Biography

After he finished his high school studies in Romania, he went to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1847 to study in the German military academies and in 1853, with the approval of the Romanian government, he joined the Prussian Army as a sub-lieutenant. Returning to his country in 1858, he joined 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 ...

, being charged with the organization of the Romanian artillery. He was in charge of this task until he resigned in 1884. From 1869 to 1870, Manu, a colonel, was part of the cabinets of

Dimitrie Ghica Dimitrie Ghica or Ghika (31 May 1816 – 15 February 1897) was a Romanian politician. A prominent member of the Conservative Party, he served as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1870. Dimitrie Ghica was born in the Ghica family, as the son ...

and Manolache Costache Epureanu, heading the War Ministry. In 1874, he was chosen

, keeping this function until 1877. During his tenure, he initiated the creation of a modern water supply network for the city; the works were interrupted between 1877 and 1878, but by 1879 over ten kilometers of pipes were installed. As 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 ...

began in 1877, General Manu was the commander of the 4th division, in charge of defending Romania in

Oltenița Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube fro ...

, Corabia,

Bechet Bechet is a town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania, on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Oryahovo. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 3,363. Gallery Image:Dunarea la Bechet 1.jpg, Danube at Bechet Image:Dunarea la Bec ...

Islaz Islaz is a commune in southern Romania, located in the southwestern Teleorman County, west of Turnu Măgurele. It is part of the historical province Oltenia, and is composed of two villages, Islaz and Moldoveni. The commune is situated in the s ...

and

Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Da ...

, but following the offensive, his division took part in the campaign on the plains of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, in Pleven and

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...

. He was the first Romanian decorated with the

Military Virtue Medal The Military Virtue Medal ( ro, Medalia "Virtutea Militară") is a Romanian military decoration, instituted on April 8, 1872, by King Carol I. A previous version, called ''Pro Virtute Militari'', was established by Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1860 f ...

, in May 1877. After the war, he was artillery inspector until 1888, when he resigned. He was

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 ...

in the

Theodor Rosetti Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Ro ...

and

Lascăr Catargiu Lascăr Catargiu ( or Lascăr Catargi; 1 November 1823 – ) was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab ...

governments, between 12 November 1888 and 5 November 1889 (Old Style). He was also

between 5 November 1889 and 15 February 1891. On 27 November 1891, in the Lascăr Catargiu cabinet, he became the Minister of State Property, but quit to become the President of the Chamber of Deputies, a post he held until 1895, when he retired.

Publications

References

Gallery of caricatures

Drawn by Nicolae Petrescu-Găină

File:Nicolae Petrescu Gaina - General Gheorghe Manu.jpg, ''Gheorghe Manu'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (1).jpg, ''Minister of Interior'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (2).jpg, ''Prefect of police'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (3).jpg, ''Civilian''

From Adevărul, 1899

File:1899 - Generalul Manu, sursa Adevărul, 12, nr. 3723, 6 decembrie1900.PNG {{DEFAULTSORT:Manu, Gheorghe 1833 births 1911 deaths Military personnel from Bucharest Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Agriculture Romanian Ministers of Defence Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian Ministers of Interior Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Mayors of Bucharest Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Recipients of the Military Virtue Medal