Gheorghe Manu

Gheorghe Manu
Gheorghe Manu
	Romanian Minister of the Interior
	In office; 9 January 1900 – 7 July 1900
Prime Minister	Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino
Preceded by	Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino
Succeeded by	Constantin Olănescu
Personal details
Born	July 26, 1833; Bucharest, Wallachia
Died	May 16, 1911 (aged 77); Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Political party	Conservative Party (PC)
Awards	Military Virtue Medal
Military service
Branch/service	Romanian Land Forces
Rank	divisional general
Battles/wars	Romanian War of Independence

Gheorghe Manu (26 July 1833,

Minister of the Interior, President of the Assembly of Deputies, and Mayor of Bucharest

.

Biography

After he finished his high school studies in Romania, he went to Prussia 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.^[1]

Returning to his country in 1858, he joined the

War Ministry.^[1] In 1874, he was chosen Mayor of Bucharest, 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.^[2]

As the Romanian War of Independence began in 1877, General Manu was the commander of the 4th division, in charge of defending Romania in Oltenița, Corabia, Bechet, Islaz and Turnu Măgurele, but following the offensive, his division took part in the campaign on the plains of Bulgaria, in Pleven and Vidin. He was the first Romanian decorated with the Military Virtue Medal, in May 1877.^[1]

After the war, he was artillery inspector until 1888, when he resigned. He was War Minister in the Theodor Rosetti and Lascăr Catargiu governments, between 12 November 1888 and 5 November 1889 (Old Style). He was also Prime Minister 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.^[1]