Alexandru Candiano-Popescu (; January 27, 1841 – June 25, 1901) was a Romanian army general, lawyer, journalist, and poet, best known for his role in the '' Republic of Ploieşti''

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

Biography

He joined the military school in 1854, becoming an artillery sub-lieutenant in 1859. As a captain, he took part in the coup of February 11, 1866, that toppled

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also Anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as List of monarchs of Moldavia ...

, the ruling ''

Domnitor ''Prince Domnitor'', in full ''Principe Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Principi Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, ...

'' of the

United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Moldavia, Principality of Moldavia and the Wallachia, Principality of Wallachia. The union was ...

. In 1867, he resigned from the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

and started two newspapers: ''Perseverenţa'' and ''Democraţia'', in which he supported democratic ideas. Considered a "political agitator", he was arrested three times, including once in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, where he was imprisoned for several weeks in the fortress of Arad. In August 1870, he took part in the republican insurrection against the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

''Domnitor'',

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

, in Ploieşti. The movement was suppressed and he was charged along with 40 other people, but the Târgovişte court of law acquitted them. In his tongue-in-cheek account of the insurrection (''Boborul''),

Ion Luca Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...

named Candiano-Popescu as "President of the Republic", and claimed that he had appointed several of his collaborators into high office. In 1877, as the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

began, Candiano, although he was a deputy in the

Romanian Parliament The Parliament of Romania () is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the capital. Prior to the modification of the Cons ...

, joined the army to take part in the assault over

Grivitsa Grivitsa (, ; also transliterated as ''Grivitza'' or ''Grivica'') is a village in Pleven Municipality, Pleven Province, central northern Bulgaria. It is primarily known as the site of one of the key engagements in the Siege of Plevna during th ...

, being the commander of the 2nd Hunters' Battalion, receiving the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

from Alexander II, the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 1880, he became Carol's

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

, a position he held for 12 years. In 1894, he was named General of Cavalry. He wrote a volume of poetry, ''Când n-aveam ce face'' (1866), and several war songs.

References

*I. L. Caragiale,
Boborul
' *Dimitrie R. Rosetti, ''Dicţionarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara", 1897 {{DEFAULTSORT:Candiano-Popescu, Alexandru 1841 births 1901 deaths Military personnel from Bucharest Republicanism in Romania Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian Land Forces generals 19th-century Romanian lawyers Romanian newspaper editors Romanian newspaper founders 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian revolutionaries 19th-century Romanian male writers