Gheorghe Manu was a Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n Army general, artillery inspector and statesman.

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

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 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

Sub-Lieutenant

Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...

.

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

Dimitrie Ghica

Dimitrie Ghica or Ghika was a Romanian politician. A prominent member of the Conservative Party, he served as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1870....

 and Manolache Costache Epureanu

Manolache Costache Epureanu

Manolache Costache Epureanu was twice the Prime Minister of Romania as a representative of the Conservative Party: in 1870 and in 1876 .- Biography :...

, heading the War Ministry

Defence minister

A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...

. In 1874, he was chosen Mayor of Bucharest

Mayor of Bucharest

The Mayor of Bucharest , sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for city-wide affairs, such as the water system, the transport system and the main boulevards...

, keeping this function until 1877.

As the Romanian War of Independence

Romanian War of Independence

The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war, following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire...

 began in 1877, General Manu was the commander of the 4th division, in charge with defending Romania in Olteniţa

Oltenita

Olteniţa is a city in Romania in the Călăraşi County on the left bank of the Argeş River where its waters reach the Danube through a network of streams and marshes.Oltenita stands just across the Danube from the Bulgarian city of Tutrakan.-History:...

, Corabia

Corabia

Corabia is a small Danube port located in Olt County, Romania, which used to be part of the now-dissolved Romanaţi County before World War II...

, Bechet

Bechet

Bechet is a city in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania, on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Oryahovo.- External links :*...

, Islaz

Islaz

Islaz is a commune in southern Romania, located in the southwestern Teleorman County, 10 km west of Turnu Măgurele. It is part of the historical province Oltenia, and is composed of two villages, Islaz and Moldoveni....

 and Turnu Măgurele

Turnu Magurele

Turnu Măgurele is a city in Teleorman County, Romania . Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Danube....

, but following the offensive, his division took part in the campaign on the plains of Bulgaria, in Pleven

Pleven

Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...

 and Vidin

Vidin

Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...

. He was the first Romanian decorated with Virtutea Militară, in May 1877.

After the war, he was artillery inspector until 1888, when he resigned. He was also a War Minister in the Theodor Rosetti

Theodor Rosetti

Theodor Rosetti was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 13 April 1888 and 11 April 1889....

 and Lascăr Catargiu

Lascar Catargiu

Lascăr Catargiu was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab, and had settled in Moldavia.-Biography:...

governments, between 12 November 1888 and 5 November 1889 (Old Style). He was also Prime Minister 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.