Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) 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 statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was

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 ...

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 ( , ; ) 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 ...

, 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 Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

family, and was the nephew of both

Grigore Alexandru Ghica Grigore Alexandru Ghica or Ghika (1803 or 1807 – 24 August 1857) was a Prince of Moldavia between 14 October 1849, and June 1853, and again between 30 October 1854, and 3 June 1856. His wife was Helena, a member of the Sturdza family and da ...

(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. The ...

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

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

''-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 (, 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 ...

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 which was founded by the same Prince Sturdza in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

(future University of Iași). He is considered the first great Romanian 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, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

then established in Bucharest, went to

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 ...

to approach the Ottoman Imperial government; he, Nicolae Bălcescu, and General Gheorghe Magheru were instrumental in mediating negotiations between 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 ...

n Romanian leader Avram Iancu and the Hungarian Revolutionary 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 ...

Prince of Samos

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

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

(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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

(most of which was aimed at transports supplying 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 ...

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

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Abd-ul-Mejid I 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 () or King of the Romanians () was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication. ...

) Carol of Hohenzollern. In 1866, Ghica became the first chairman of the newly established Bank of Romania. He is also noted as one of the first major Liberal figures in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

, 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. For example, while the political systems ...

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

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

whenever Carol approached the

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

; 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. 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 () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It is a traditional administra ...

. Furthermore, Ghica was a member of the Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society.

Works

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

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghica, Ion 1816 births 1897 deaths Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest Ion National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Political people from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from Bucharest Organizers of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 Romanian people of the Crimean War Presidents of the Romanian Academy Prime ministers of Romania Ministers of foreign affairs of Romania Ministers of interior of Romania Ambassadors of Romania to the United Kingdom 19th-century Romanian economists Scientists from the Principality of Wallachia Romanian essayists Romanian mathematicians Romanian memoirists Romanian sociologists Princes of Samos 19th-century governors of the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Romanian memoirists Members of the Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society