Dumitru Dămăceanu (17 July 1896 – 27 September 1978) 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 army officer in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, later promoted to brigadier-general, who played a predominant role in the royal coup of August 23, 1944.

Military and diplomatic career

Before World War II

Dămăceanu was born in the village of Cosmești, in

Galați County Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați, between latitude, 45°25'N and latitude, 46°10'N latitude, longitude, 27°20'E and longitude, 28°10'E longitude. It borders the counties of Vaslu ...

. He attended the Costache Negruzzi Boarding High School of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, and then the Military School for Cavalry Officers in

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...

, graduating in 1916 with the rank of second lieutenant. He then fought in the Romanian campaign of

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 ...

with the 6th Regiment '' Roșiori''. After the war, he pursued his military education at Infantry Officer School in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

(1923) and the Military Academy of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(1929). In between the world wars, he was

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, director at the Voievodul Mihai School, and

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1938 and colonel in 1940.

During World War II

From 1941 to 1942 he was commanding officer of the 10th Roșiori Cavalry Regiment, fighting on the Eastern Front. From 1942 to 1944 he was Chief of Staff of the Capital Military Command. He was awarded the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

, 3rd class in October 1941Decretul Regal nr. 2.886 din 17 octombrie 1941 pentru conferiri de ordine, publicat în ''

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official government gazette, gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgation, promulgated bills, President of Romania, presidential decrees, Government of Romania, governmental ordinances and other m ...

'', anul CIX, nr. 248 din 18 octombrie 1941, partea I-a, p. 6.395. and the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, Officer class, in July 1942.

August 23, 1944 coup d'état

Colonel Dămăceanu participated in the August 23, 1944 coup d'état led by King

Michael I Michael I may refer to: * Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767 * Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844) * Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantinop ...

against the government of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

. He organized and coordinated the military actions and resistance in Bucharest. On August 29, he was promoted to brigadier general. By the end of August 1944, he travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with a Romanian delegation; they were received by Soviet Foreign Minister

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

on August 30 or 31. On September 12, 1944, General Dămăceanu was one of the

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

signatories of the Armistice Agreement between Romania and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(the other signatories were

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (; 4 November 1900 – 17 April 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he ...

, , and

Barbu Știrbey Prince Barbu Alexandru Știrbey (; 4 November 1872 – 24 March 1946) was 30th Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania in 1927. Early life and ancestry Born into the prestigious Știrbei, House of Știrbey, he was ...

on the Romanian side, and

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (; ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1967, during which he oversaw the strengthening of the Sov ...

on the Soviet side).

Paris Peace Conference

Gen Dumitru Damaceanu Peace Conference 1947

In 1946, he was a member of the Gheorghe Tătărescu-led Romanian delegation to the Paris World War II Peace Conference. The Peace Treaty with Romania was signed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on February 10, 1947, in the Salon de l'Horloge of the Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. On the Romanian side, the four signatories were Gheorghe Tătărescu (Council Vice-President),

(Minister of Justice),

Ștefan Voitec Ștefan Voitec (also rendered Ștefan Voitech,''Politics and Political Parties'', pp. 264, 554 Stepan Voitek;V. Kolesnik, "Spioonide Internatsionaal (Trotskistid faschistlikkude luureasutuste tegevuses)", in ''Edasi'', Issue 105/1937, p. 2 June 1 ...

(Minister of National Education), and Dămăceanu (Under-Secretary – Ministry of War). Other signatories included

James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes ( ; May 2, 1882 – April 9, 1972) was an American judge and politician from South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as in the executive branch ...

(US Secretary of State, for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

), Vyacheslav Molotov (Foreign Affairs Minister, for the Soviet Union), and

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

(Foreign Affairs Secretary, for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

)."Paris – WWII Peace Conference – 1946: Settling Romania's Western Frontiers"
, notes prepared by Dan Dimăncescu from original files and records of D. Dem Dimăncescu, member of the Romanian Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, available at the Honorary Consulate of Romania in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

1944–1947

In August 1946 he advanced in rank to major general. Later on, Dămăceanu was promoted to

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. From August 23, 1944, to December 30, 1947, he was Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior, Council of Ministers, Ministry of War-Land Forces.

Under the communist regime

Persecution

After King Michael's forced abdication on December 30, 1947 and the complete Communist takeover, Dămăceanu was removed from the army. During the early 1950s he was degraded, arrested, tried and sentenced to serve time in prison.

Rehabilitation

After being released, during the 1960s, he was rehabilitated, receiving back his military rank – as a reserve officer. In 1974 he was promoted from the rank of colonel general to that of army general by presidential decree. The gymnasium in Cosmești now bears his name, as does a street in his native town.

Private life

In 1932 he married Georgeta Stroescu (born October 1912, died March 1996), and they had a daughter, Gabriela Romana Dămăceanu, born in May 1938 in Rome, Italy, while he was a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

References

External links

*
"Dimitri D. Dimăncescu, 1896-1984"
, at the Honorary Consulate of Romania in Boston, has a photograph of Dumitru Dămăceanu at the Paris Peace Conference in 1946 * Cristina Diac and Florin Mihai
"1939-1944: 23 august, Cronica unui dezastru"
in ''

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...

'', August 23, 2006. * Andreea Sminchise
"Centenarii României – 'Pacepa mi-a distrus băiatul...'"
in ''Jurnalul Național'', March 27, 2007. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damaceanu, Dumitru 1896 births 1976 deaths Romanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1946 Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian diplomats Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian expatriates in Italy Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania People from Galați County Costache Negruzzi National College alumni Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian prisoners and detainees Socialist Republic of Romania rehabilitations Prisoners and detainees of Romania