Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a

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

n statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was

Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Guvernului României, link=no), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was s ...

five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, 1884–1887, 1890–1893 and 1894–1895). He was the older brother and associate of Pantazi Ghica, a prolific writer and politician.

Early life and Revolution

He 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 o ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

, to the prominent Ghica

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

family, and was the nephew of both Grigore Alexandru Ghica (who was to become

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

of Wallachia in the 1840s and 1850s) and Ion Câmpineanu, a ''

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

''-inspired radical. His father was Dimitrie (Tache) Ghica and his mother – Maria née Câmpineanu. Ion Ghica was educated in Bucharest and in Western Europe, studying engineering and mathematics in Mine School of Paris (France) from 1837 to 1840. After finishing his studies in Paris, he left for

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

and was involved in the failed ''Frăția'' ("Brotherhood") conspiracy of 1848, which was intended to bring about the union of Wallachia and Moldavia under one native Romanian leader, Prince Mihai Sturdza. Ion Ghica became a professor on geology and mineralogy and later professor on political economy at the

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institute ...

which was founded by the same Prince Sturdza in Iași (future

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...

). He is considered the first great Roumanian economist. He joined the Wallachian revolutionary camp, and, in the name of the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

then established in Bucharest, went to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

to approach the Ottoman Imperial government; he,

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother' ...

, and General

Gheorghe Magheru General Gheorghe Magheru (; 1802, Bârzeiul de Gilort, Gorj County – 23 March 1880) was a Romanian revolutionary and soldier from Wallachia, and political ally of Nicolae Bălcescu. A Pandur and radical conspirator Magheru began his ...

were instrumental in mediating negotiations between the

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 ...

n Romanian leader Avram Iancu and the Hungarian Revolutionary government of Lajos Kossuth.

Prince of Samos

While in Istanbul, he was appointed Bey (governor) of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

(1854–1859), where he proved his leadership skills by extirpating local

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

(most of which was aimed at transports supplying the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

). After completing the task, Ghica was awarded the honorary title of ''Bey of Samos'' by Sultan

Abd-ul-Mejid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the ...

in 1856.

Political career in Romania

In 1859, after the union of Moldavia and Walachia had been effected, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza asked Ion Ghica to return. Later (1866), despite being trusted by Prince Cuza, Ghica took active part in the secret grouping that secured Cuza's overthrow. He was the first prime minister under Prince of Romania (afterwards

King of Romania The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romani ...

) Carol of Hohenzollern. In 1866, Ghica became the first chairman of the newly established

Bank of Romania The Bank of Romania ( ro, Banca României, french: Banque de Roumanie), from 1903 Bank of Roumania Ltd., was Romania's oldest bank and its largest financial institution in the late 19th century, created and controlled by the Ottoman Bank until ...

. He is also noted as one of the first major

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

figures in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

, and one of the leaders of the incipient

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. His group's radicalism, with its boyar leadership that had engineered the defunct Revolution, surfaced as

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

whenever Carol approached the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

; Ghica joined the anti-dynastic movement of 1870–1871 that had surfaced with the Republic of Ploiești. The matter of the Liberals' loyalty was ultimately settled 1876, with the exceptionally long Liberal Ministry of

Ion Brătianu An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

. In 1881, Ghica was appointed Romanian Minister in London, an office he retained until 1889; he died in Ghergani,

Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (also spelt ''Dîmbovița'', ) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It has an area o ...

Works

Beside his political distinction, Ion Ghica earned a literary reputation by writing his ''Letters'', addressed to

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...

, his lifelong friend. Conceived and written during his residency in London, the letters depict the ancestral stage of Romanian society, as it appeared to be fading away. He was also the author of ''Amintiri din pribegie'' ("Recollections from Exile"), in 1848, and of ''Convorbiri Economice'' ("Conversations on Economics"), dealing with major economic issues. He was the first to advocate the favoring of local initiatives over foreign investments in industry and commerce – to a certain extent, this took the form of

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...

(a characteristic of the Liberal Party throughout the coming period, and until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Footnotes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghica, Ion 1816 births 1897 deaths Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Political people from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from Bucharest Romanian people of the Crimean War People of the Revolutions of 1848 Presidents of the Romanian Academy Prime Ministers of the Principality of Wallachia Prime Ministers of the Principality of Moldavia Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Romanian Ministers of Interior Ambassadors of Romania to the United Kingdom 19th-century Romanian economists Romanian essayists Romanian mathematicians Romanian memoirists Romanian revolutionaries Romanian sociologists Princes of Samos 19th-century rulers in Europe 19th-century memoirists