Gheorghe Manu (; 26 July 1833,

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– 16 May 1911,

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) 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 Army general, artillery inspector and statesman. He served as

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

(1889–1891),

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, Minister of the Interior, President of the Assembly of Deputies, and

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Biography

After he finished his high school studies in Romania, he went to

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in 1847 to study in the German military academies and in 1853, with the approval of the Romanian government, he joined the Prussian Army as a sub-lieutenant. Returning to his country in 1858, he joined the Romanian Army, being charged with the organization of the Romanian artillery. He was in charge of this task until he resigned in 1884. From 1869 to 1870, Manu, a colonel, was part of the cabinets of Dimitrie Ghica and Manolache Costache Epureanu, heading the War Ministry. In 1874, he was chosen

, keeping this function until 1877. During his tenure, he initiated the creation of a modern water supply network for the city; the works were interrupted between 1877 and 1878, but by 1879 over ten kilometers of pipes were installed. As the Romanian War of Independence began in 1877, General Manu was the commander of the 4th division, in charge of defending Romania in Oltenița, Corabia, Bechet, Islaz and Turnu Măgurele, but following the offensive, his division took part in the campaign on the plains of

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, in Pleven and Vidin. He was the first Romanian decorated with the Military Virtue Medal, in May 1877. After the war, he was artillery inspector until 1888, when he resigned. He was War Minister in the Theodor Rosetti and Lascăr Catargiu governments, between 12 November 1888 and 5 November 1889 (Old Style). He was also

between 5 November 1889 and 15 February 1891. On 27 November 1891, in the Lascăr Catargiu cabinet, he became the Minister of State Property, but quit to become the President of the Chamber of Deputies, a post he held until 1895, when he retired.

Publications

References

Gallery of caricatures

Drawn by Nicolae Petrescu-Găină

File:Nicolae Petrescu Gaina - General Gheorghe Manu.jpg, ''Gheorghe Manu'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (1).jpg, ''Minister of Interior'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (2).jpg, ''Prefect of police'' File:NSPetrescuGaina - Generalul G Manu (3).jpg, ''Civilian''

From
Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...
, 1899