Ion Gheorghe Duca (; 20 December 1879 – 29 December 1933) was

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n politician and the Prime Minister of Romania from 14 November to 29 December 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.

Early life

Duca was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

on 20 December 1879. He was initiated into

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

while he was studying in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He completed his studies at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, earning a doctorate in law in 1902. As part of a group of professors, physicians, soldiers and other professions, he helped bring scouting to Romania (''see also Cercetașii României'').

Political career

Duca entered Romania's Chamber of Deputies for the National Liberal Party in 1907. He served in the cabinet from 1914, and was appointed

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in 1922. He was an avid supporter of the Little Entente, formed between Romania,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

to fend off Hungarian irredentist claims (Hungary claimed

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

and the Banat, which Romania gained after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) and prevent the House of Habsburg from returning to power in Central Europe. IonDuca

In November 1933,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

asked Duca to head the government as

prime minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

in preparation for the December elections. In this capacity, Duca worked to keep in check the rising support for the Iron Guard, also known as Legion of the Archangel Michael, a fascist movement led by

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion o ...

, even outlawing the Everything For the Country Party, its political arm. What followed was a time of violence when police on orders from Duca sometimes attacked Iron Guard membersJelavich, p.206 (which led to the deaths of 18 of the members), and jailed thousands of them. Shortly after, many of the Iron Guard members were released from jail.

Assassination

On 29 December 1933, just 45 days into his prime ministership, Duca was summoned to

Peleș Castle Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...

, in Sinaia, for consultations with the king. On the return trip, at night, Duca was shot to death on the platform of the Sinaia train station. This was done in revenge for the actions taken by Duca against the Iron Guard, and because he had allowed for increased Jewish immigration while blocking that of Aromanians to

Dobrudja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

. Duca's assassination was the first major political assassination in Romania since 1862. Duca was assassinated by three Iron Guard members, that formed the Nicadori Iron Guard death squad, comprising Nicolae Constantinescu, Ion Caranica, and Doru Belimace. All three were arrested straight away and sentenced to hard labour for life. They were all killed, as were many other Iron Guard leaders, on 30 November 1938 while being transported to

Jilava Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as '' ...

prison.

Legacy

Duca wrote extensive memoirs about his experiences as a cabinet minister during

. His son, George, edited Duca and George's memoirs while at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in the 1970s and 1980s. There are streets named after him in Bucharest, Constanța, Craiova, Eforie,

Mediaș Mediaș (; german: Mediasch, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš'', hu, Medgyes) is the second largest town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Geographic location Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, ...

, and

Otopeni Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the DN1 road to Ploiești. It has 15,850 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are ethnic Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the city. Henri Coandă ...

, as well as a gymnasium in

Petroșani Petroșani (; Hungarian: ''Petrozsény''; German: ''Petroschen'') is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 34,331 (2011). The city has been associated with mining since the 19th century. History "Pietros" means ...

References

External links

Hoover article 1

Hoover article 2
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duca, Ion 1879 births 1933 deaths Anti-fascists Politicians from Bucharest National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875) politicians Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Agriculture Romanian Ministers of Culture Romanian Ministers of Education Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Romanian Ministers of Interior Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian memoirists Romanian Freemasons Scouting pioneers Scouting and Guiding in Romania People assassinated by the Romanian Iron Guard Deaths by firearm in Romania People murdered in Romania Assassinated heads of government University of Paris alumni Romanian expatriates in France