Alexandru G. Golescu (; 1819 – 15 August 1881) was a

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

n politician who served as a

prime minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...

in 1870.

Early life

Born in the Golescu family of

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, he was the cousin of the brothers

Ștefan Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically c ...

and

Nicolae Golescu Nicolae Golescu (; 1810–1877) was a Wallachian Romanian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania in 1860 and May–November 1868.James Chastain (2004). ''Golescu Brothers''. Ohio University https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/dh/gole ...

; Alexandru G. was often referred to as Alexandru Golescu Negru (''Golescu the Black''), to distinguish him from his relative and fellow activist Alexandru C. Golescu (who was known as "Albu" – ''the White''). Alexandru G. Golescu studied at the Saint Sava Academy and then in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, at the '' École d'Arts et Métiers'', after which he returned to be an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

in Wallachia. Together with

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 ...

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...

and

Christian Tell Christian Tell (12 January 1808 – 4/16 February 1884) was a Transylvanian-born Wallachian and Romanian general and politician. Life and activity He was born in Brașov on 12 January 1808. He studied at the Saint Sava National College in Buch ...

, Golescu was a founding member of the ''Frăția'' ("Brotherhood"), a

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

secret society in 1843, meant as opposition to Wallachian Prince Gheorghe Bibescu. He returned to Paris in 1845 to be a member of a revolutionary society of the Romanian students.

Revolution and later years

He took part in the

Wallachian revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sough ...

, and were members of the Revolutionary Committee formed around ''Frăția''. He was a secretary of the Provisional Government, and served as its representative in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after 14 July 1848 (in this capacity, he called for the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

's support in combating the threat of Ottoman and

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

n intervention in Wallachia). Golescu was also active in negotiating an agreement between the Hungarian government of

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

and the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

forces of

Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; ; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especiall ...

, but his efforts were largely unsuccessful. After the revolution in Bucharest was crushed, Ghica remained in exile until 1856, when, after Russian presence had been swept by the effects of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

he returned to campaign for the unification of

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, which was successful in 1859 when

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 ...

was elected ''

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 two

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities (, ) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) ...

. He later served several times as minister and once, for only half a year, as prime minister under Prince Carol. He died at his estate in Rusănești,

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...

Works

*''Die politische Stellung der Roumänen'',

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 1848 *''De l'abolition du servage dans les Principautés Danubiennes'',

, 1856

External links

''Golescu-Negru''
by James Chastain, 19 October 2004, at the Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golescu, Alexandru G. 1819 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Bucharest Saint Sava National College alumni Organizers of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 Alexandru G. Prime ministers of Romania Ministers of finance of Romania Ministers of interior of Romania Ministers of foreign affairs of Romania Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Diplomats from Bucharest Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni 19th-century people from the Principality of Wallachia