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, and had settled in Moldavia.

Biography

He was born in Iași, the son of Constantin Catargiu, the scion of an old boyar family. According to some historians, he had Gagauz ancestry.https://www.romaniaregala.ro/jurnal/gagauzia-breviar-informativ/
From 1843 to 1844, he served as deputy '' ispravnic'' in Huși and then as '' pârcălab'' in Neamț County. Lascăr Catargiu rose to the office of prefect of police in Iași under the rule of the Moldavian Prince Grigore Ghica (1849–1856). In 1857 he became a member of the '' ad hoc Divan'' of Moldavia, a commission elected in accordance with the Treaty of Paris (1856) to vote on the proposed union of Moldavia and Wallachia (the Danubian Principalities). His strongly conservative views, especially on land reform, induced the Conservatives to support him as a candidate for the Romanian throne in 1859.

During the reign of ''Domnitor'' Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859–1866), Catargiu was one of the Opposition leaders, and received much assistance from his kinsman, Barbu Catargiu (b. 1807), a noted journalist and politician, who was assassinated in Bucharest on 20 June 1862. Lascăr Catargiu consequently took part in the so-called '' monstrous coalition'' that toppled Cuza, and, on the accession of ''Domnitor'' Carol I in May 1866, became President of the Council of Ministers but, finding himself unable to cooperate with his Liberal colleagues, Ion Brătianu and C. A. Rosetti, he resigned in July.

After eight more ministerial changes, culminating in the anti-dynastic agitation of 1870–1871 (provoked by the Liberals in the context of the Franco-Prussian War; ''see also Republic of Ploiești''), Catargiu formed, for the first time in Romanian history, a stable Conservative cabinet, which lasted until 1876. His policy, which averted political violence and revived the popularity of the crown, was regarded as unpatriotic and reactionary by the Liberals, who resumed office in 1876; and a proposal to impeach the whole Catargiu cabinet was only withdrawn in 1878.

Catargiu remained in opposition until 1889, when he formed another cabinet, taking the portfolio of the Interior; but this administration fell after seven months. In the Ion Emanuel Florescu cabinet of March 1891 he occupied the same position, and in December he again became president of the Council, retaining office until 1895. During this period he was responsible for several important reforms, chiefly financial and commercial. He died in Bucharest and was buried in the city's Bellu Cemetery.

The Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard—one of the main roads in central Bucharest—connects Piața Romană to Piața Victoriei. In the middle of the boulevard lies a statue of Catargiu, built by sculptor Antonin Mercié in 1907.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Catargiu, Lascar
1823 births
1899 deaths
Politicians from the Principality of Moldavia
People from Iași
Politicians from Iași
Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians
Prime ministers of Romania
Ministers of defence of Romania
Ministers of foreign affairs of Romania
Ministers of interior of Romania
Members of the Ad hoc Divans
Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Members of the Senate of Romania
Burials at Bellu Cemetery
Romanian politicians of Gagauz descent