Gabriel Marinescu (first name also Gavril or Gavrilă; November 7, 1886 – November 26/27, 1940) 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. Born in Tigveni,

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

, he was the son of a teacher. He attended

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of th ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, the school for soldiers’ sons in

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 the Bucharest military school, from which he graduated in 1907 as head of his class, with the rank of second lieutenant. After being promoted to lieutenant (1910) and then captain (1915), Marinescu served during 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 ...

in a '' Vânători'' regiment. Promoted to major in April 1917, he distinguished himself in the

Battle of Mărăști The Battle of Mărăști () was one of the main battles to take place on Kingdom of Romania, Romanian soil in World War I. It was fought between 22 July and 1 August 1917, and was an offensive operation of the Romanian Land Forces, Romanian and Mi ...

. For his valor displayed at engagements at Topești and Bârsești in the Putna River valley, on 11 August 1917 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 1918 he became commanding officer of the 9th Mountain Troops Regiment. After the war, he joined the staff of the rural gendarmerie, becoming lieutenant colonel in 1921 and colonel in 1926.Grigore and Șerbu, p. 267 In June 1930, soon after assuming the throne,

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, ...

dismissed Bucharest's incumbent prefect of police, naming Marinescu, who held the office until November 1939. The deed was accomplished by royal decree without cabinet approval, signaling Carol's authoritarian tendencies. Marinescu thus became a founding member of the royal

camarilla A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the Court (royal), royal court but power behind the throne, influence their ruler behind the sce ...

. As part of his duties, the general selected prostitutes appealing to the king. In 1934, Carol considered him to be his "personal guard", and a year later he told Nicolae Lupu that Marinescu was "the only man I trust". In 1935, the building of a new police headquarters began; it was completed two years later. This was initiated by Marinescu and financed by

Max Auschnitt Max Carol Auschnitt,Cerasela Moldoveanu, "În căutarea lui Schwartz... Contribuția evreilor la Războiul de Întregire Națională a României (1916–1919)", in ''Revista de Istorie Militară'', Issues 5–6/2017, p. 90 also known as Ausschnitt ...

. The same year, Marinescu co-authored a hagiographic volume on the king, and delivered a radio address attacking his opponent

Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Union of Transylvania wi ...

. In February 1937, he was named state secretary at the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

. As such, he took a number of harsh but unsuccessful measures against the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, which in 1936 had already marked him for execution.Grigore and Șerbu, p. 268 On 10 May 1937 he was promoted to brigadier general. In January 1938, shortly before the

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...

regime was established, Marinescu returned to his Interior position. Following the assassination of

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Armand Călinescu Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister from March 1939 until Assassination of Armand Călinescu, his assassination six ...

, he was named Interior Minister. During the week he served (21–28 September 1939), his agents killed over 300 legionnaires in reprisal. He was then named head of a new Public Order Ministry, where he was responsible for the police and gendarmerie. This was dissolved on October 3. In November, Marinescu was dismissed as prefect of police.Grigore and Șerbu, p. 269 In October 1940, during the

National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...

, Marinescu was arrested. He was assassinated the next month as part of the Jilava massacre. He is buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

Notes

References

*Constantin Grigore and Miliana Șerbu,
Miniștrii de interne (1862–2007)
'. Editura Ministerului Internelor și Reformei Administrative, Bucharest, 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinescu, Gabriel 1886 births 1940 deaths People from Argeș County Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian police chiefs Romanian military personnel of World War I Ministers of interior of Romania Camarilla (Carol II of Romania) Politicide perpetrators Presidents of the Romanian Football Federation Romanian sports executives and administrators Saint Sava National College alumni Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Burials at Bellu Cemetery