Ion C. Brătianu
Ion C. Brătianu | |
---|---|
Prime Minister of Romania | |
In office July 24, 1876—April 9, 1881 June 9, 1881 – March 20, 1888 | |
Preceded by | Nicolae Golescu Manolache Costache Epureanu Dimitrie Brătianu |
Succeeded by | Dimitrie Ghica Dimitrie Brătianu Theodor Rosetti |
Personal details | |
Born | Argeș County, Wallachia | June 2, 1821
Died | May 16, 1891 Kingdom of Romania | (aged 69)
Political party | National Liberal Party |
Ion Constantin Brătianu (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon brətiˈanu]; June 2, 1821 – May 16, 1891) was one of the major political figures of 19th-century Romania. He was the son of Dincă Brătianu and the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu. He also was the grandfather of poet Ion Pillat.
Biography
Early life
Born to wealthy
The restoration of
Under Cuza and in the opposition
He was in favor of the
Nonetheless, his very sinuous relationship with the new Prince was the source of several crisis situations. Notably, Brătianu would point to the benefits of a
In 1871, the Liberals organized protests in favor of France – just defeated in the
Prominence
The government took steps at taking the country out of its Ottoman vassalage; however, it differed from Conservatives in that they saw the main threat posed to Romania in Austria-Hungary. Liberals were of the generation that had truly brought Romanians in Transylvania to the country's attention; on the other hand, Catargiu had signed an agreement with the Austrian Monarchy that awarded it commercial privilege in Romania – while quieting its suspicion towards Romanian irredentism. Brătianu's government did not disturb this climate after the Russian alliance proved unsatisfactory, and the two parties resorted to assisting Romanian cultural ventures in Transylvania (until World War I).
He aligned the country with Russia as soon as the
The Congress also pressured the Liberals to discard the discrimination policies, and the government agreed to allow Jews and
The Brătianu government introduced most modern reforms in the administrative, educational, economical, and military fields. It celebrated its main success in 1883, when the Liberals managed to have the 1866 Constitution of Romania amended – enlarging the number of electors and establishing a third electoral college, one that gave some representation to peasants and the urban employees. The move was not radical, and it served to obtain the Liberals political ascendancy: the very first elections under the new law brought them an overwhelming majority.
In 1886, after a meeting with Carol I and the Bulgarian prince Alexander of Battenberg, Brătianu informed the Bulgarian diplomat Grigor Nachovich that Alexander had requested a Balkan confederation under the leadership of Carol I. This turned out to be a misunderstanding.[2]
After 1883 Brătianu acted as sole leader of the party, owing to a quarrel with Rosetti, his friend and political ally for nearly forty years. His long tenure of office, without parallel in Romanian history, rendered Brătianu extremely unpopular, and at its close his impeachment appeared inevitable. But any proceedings taken against the minister would have involved charges against the king, who was largely responsible for his policy, and the impeachment was averted by a vote of parliament in February 1890.[1]
Other activities
Besides being the leading statesman of Romania during the critical years 1876–1888, Brătianu attained some eminence as a writer. His French language political pamphlets, Mémoire sur l'empire d'Autriche dans la question d'Orient ("Account of the Austrian Empire in the Oriental Issue", 1855), Réflexions sur la situation ("Musings on the Situation", 1856), Mémoire sur la situation de la Moldavie depuis le traité de Paris ("Account on Moldavia's Situation After the Treaty of Paris", 1857), and La Question religieuse en Roumanie ("The Religious Issue in Romania", 1866), were all published in Paris.[1]
In memoriam
Many places, schools, streets, etc. in Romania are named after him, including:
- The commune I. C. Brătianu in Tulcea County.
- The Ion C. Brătianu National College in Pitești.
- The I.C. Brătianu National College in Hațeg.
- The Ion C. Brătianu Boulevard in downtown Bucharest.
- I. C. Brătianu Plaza in Timișoara.
- The Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor, Ion C. Brătianu (F-46).
References
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
- ^ ISSN 0204-8906.
- ^ https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/en/report/romanian/1.1_Roots_of_Romanian_Antisemitism.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Bogdan, Caranfilof. "(PDF) "Iuda sub vremuri". O contribuție la istoria antisemitismului românesc | Caranfilof Bogdan - Academia.edu".
- ^ "State, Modernity and Anti-Semitism in Ion C. Bratianu's Political Speeches from the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century". Cogito - Multidisciplinary Research Journal (4): 17–28. 2018.
- ^ Manolescu, Nicolae (September 12, 2014). "Moses Gaster, o figură pe nedrept uitată". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved December 24, 2021.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bratianu, Ion C.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 436. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Keith Hitchins, România 1866–1947, Bucharest, Humanitas, 2004
- Stevan K. Pavlowitch, A History of The Balkans 1804–1945, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd., 1999