Ștefan Holban (15 May 1869 — 2 December 1939) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n general and politician who participated in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

against the Bolshevik regime of

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

in Hungary in 1919 and served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1921—1922.

Biography

Born in

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate t ...

, he graduated in 1889 from the School of Cavalry Officers, advancing in 1898 to the rank of captain. Between 1898 and 1900, he studied at the Higher War School. His daughter, , was born in 1901 and later became a noted historian. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1914. In October 1916, after Romania entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, he took command of the 9th and 19th Divisions of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In June 1918, Holban was appointed commander of the 6th Division, which entered

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

at the end of 1918. On April 20, 1919, he marched into

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

, together with General Traian Moșoiu (the commander of the Romanian Army Group North) and Colonel . In July 1919, the forces under his command were covering a front line of some ; in the first echelon, there was the 18th Infantry Division of General Dănilă Papp, and in the second echelon, the 1st Vânători Division of General . On August 4, 1919, when the Romanian troops under the overall command of General

Gheorghe Mărdărescu Gheorghe D. Mărdărescu (4 August 1866 – 5 September 1938) was a Romanian army major general during World War I, a commander during the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919, and Minister of War from 1922 to 1926. Mărdărescu was born in Iași ...

entered

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Holban was appointed military governor of the city. As governor, he approved the freeing of prisoners detained by the communist regime at the

Rákospalota Rákospalota (literally: ''Castle ponRákos rook', ) is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. With Pest-újhely and Új-palota it comprises District XV. History In the early Middle Ages there were about six villages in the northern part of ...

camp and in other prisons, as well as the return of property confiscated by the Hungarian Soviet Republic. In 1921, he was promoted to the rank of division general. He served as Minister of War in the Take Ionescu cabinet from 17 December 1921 to 19 January 1922. He died in Bucharest in 1939. A street in Sector 1 of the capital city is named after him. A high school in Cărpineni,

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

also bears his name.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holban, Ștefan 1869 births 1939 deaths People from Vaslui Romanian Army World War I generals Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Ministers of defence of Romania Carol I National Defence University alumni