Ioan M. Manu, also known as Iancu Manu (1803 – November 29 O.S., 1874), 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 ...

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

and politician.

Biography

He was the son of Mihail G. Manu, born into a family of Venetian origins that had moved from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

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 ...

in the mid-18th century, where it was one of the noble families of

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

. Ioan Manu studied at home and then at the Romanian school of

Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; 6 January 1802 – 27 April 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romanticism, Romantic and Classicism, Classicist poet, essayist, memoi ...

, Simeon Marcovici and others. During the rule of

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 governor

Pavel Kiselyov Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff (; , Moscow – , Paris) is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign. Kiselyov was plenipotentiary president ( de facto governor) ...

(''see

Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...

''), he was a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of Galaţi, then a prefect of

Giurgiu Giurgiu (; ; ) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the op ...

and in 1833, he settled in the capital

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 ...

, holding several offices in succession: a ''

Vornic Vornic was a historical rank for an official in charge of justice and internal affairs. He was overseeing the Royal Court. It originated in the Slovak '' nádvorník''. In the 16th century in Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrilli ...

'' during the reign of

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. The ...

Alexandru II Ghica Alexandru Dimitrie Ghica (1 May 1796 – January 1862), a member of the Ghica family, was Prince of Wallachia from April 1834 to 7 October 1842 and later caimacam (regent) from July 1856 to October 1858. Family He was son of Demetriu Ghica ...

, a secretary of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, and an '' Aga'' (prefect of police) during the reign of

Gheorghe Bibescu Gheorghe Bibescu (; 26 April 1804 – 1 June 1873) was the '' hospodar'' (prince) of Wallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with the revolutionary tide that culminated in the 1848 Wallachian revolution. Early political career Born ...

(when he organized the first

Firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s' Corps in Wallachia). In exchange for his leadership during the

Great Fire of Bucharest The Great Fire of Bucharest ( or simply ) was the largest conflagration ever to occur in Bucharest, Romania, then the capital of Wallachia. It started on 23 March 1847 and destroyed 1850 buildings, a third of the city, including, according to Pr ...

(1847), Manu was awarded a "sword of honour" by the city. During the

1848 Wallachian Revolution 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 ...

, he fled the country, returning after some time, but staying out of politics for a while. He later became a ''

Postelnic ''Postelnic'' (, plural: ''postelnici,'' from the Slavic ''postel'', "bed"; cf. Russian '' postelnichy'') was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to the position of '' chamberlain''. I ...

'' (Foreign Minister) during the reign of

Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbei Barbu may refer to: People * Barbu (name), a list of people with the name and surname ''Barbu'' * Alejandro Barbudo Lorenzo, nicknamed ''Barbu'', Spanish footballer Places * Barbu, Iran, a village in the Bushehr Province of Iran * Barbu, Norway, ...

. In his political activity, Manu climbed all the boyar ranks, eventually reaching the highest one, that of ''Great Vornic''. In 1858, after 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 ...

removed the country from Russian overseeing, he was, with

Emanoil Băleanu Emanoil Băleanu ( Transitional Cyrillic: Eманoiл БълeaнȢ or БълѣнȢ; "Télégraphie privée", in ''Journal des Débats'', December 19, 1858, p. 1 or ''Manuel de Balliano'';"Histoire de la semaine", in ''L'Illustration de Bade'', Vol ...

and

Ioan Al. Filipescu Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Aromanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved f ...

, one of the three ''

Caimacam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

s'' who administered Wallachia pending the election of a new prince by the ad hoc Divan. In 1859, he supported the former prince Bibescu instead of

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 ...

, and, during the latter's rule as ''

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 ...

, he retired from public life. Manu returned only when

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 ...

replaced Cuza, being elected a member of the

Parliament of Romania The Parliament of Romania () is the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate of Romania, Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament i ...

in the first

electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

(that of landowners), as a representative of

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...

References

*Dimitrie R. Rosetti, ''Dicţionarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara", 1897

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manu, Ioan 1803 births 1874 deaths Regents and governors of Wallachia Postelnici of Wallachia Agas of the Wallachian police People of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 19th-century military personnel of the Principality of Wallachia History of Bucharest Prefects of Romania Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Phanariotes Romanian people of Greek descent