Gheorghe Tatarescu
Encyclopedia
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu was a Romania
n politician who served twice as Prime Minister of Romania
(1934–1937; 1939–1940), three times as Minister of Foreign Affairs (interim in 1934 and 1938; appointed to the office in 1945-1947), and once as Minister of War
(1934). Representing the "young liberals" faction inside the National Liberal Party
(PNL), Tătărescu began his political career as a collaborator of Ion G. Duca
, becoming noted for his anti-Communism
and, in time, for his conflicts with the PNL's leader Dinu Brătianu
and the Foreign Minister Nicolae Titulescu
. During his first time in office, he moved closer to King
Carol II
, leading an ambivalent policy toward the fascist
Iron Guard
and ultimately becoming instrumental in establishing the authoritarian
and corporatist
regime around the National Renaissance Front
. In 1940, he accepted the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union
, and consequently had to resign.
After the start of World War II
, Gheorghe Tătărescu initiated a move to rally political forces in opposition to Ion Antonescu
's dictatorship, and sought an alliance with the Romanian Communist Party
(PCR). He was twice expelled from the PNL, in 1938 and 1944, creating instead his own group, the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu, and representing it inside the Communist-endorsed Petru Groza
cabinet. In 1946-1947, he was also the President of the Romanian Delegation to the Peace Conference
in Paris
. After that moment, relations between Tătărescu and the PCR began to sour, and he was replaced from the leadership of both his own party and the Foreign Ministry when his name was implicated in the Tămădău Affair
. Following the Communist takeover
, he was arrested and held as a political prisoner
, while being called to testify in the trial of Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
. He died soon after his release from prison.
Elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy
in 1937, he was removed from his seat by the Communist authorities in 1948. One of his brothers, Colonel Ştefan Tătărescu, was at some point the leader of a minor Nazi
group, the National Socialist Party
.
, Tătărescu studied at Carol I High School in Craiova
. He later went to France, where he was awarded a doctorate
from the University of Paris
in 1912, with a thesis on the Romanian parliamentary system
(Le régime électoral et parlementaire en Roumanie). He subsequently worked as a lawyer
in Bucharest
. He fathered a son, Tudor, and a daughter, Sanda (married to the lawyer Ulise Negropontes in 1940).
After joining the National Liberal Party
(PNL), he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
for the first time in November 1919, representing Gorj County
. Among his first notable actions as a politician was an initiative to interpellate Nicolae L. Lupu
, the Minister of Interior Affairs Ministry in the Romanian National Party
-Peasants' Party
cabinet, in answer to concerns that the executive was tolerating socialist
agitation in the countryside.
He stood among the PNL's "young liberals" faction (as they were colloquially known), supporting free trade
and a more authoritarian
rule over the country around King
Carol II
, and opposing both the older generation of leaders (who tended to advocate protectionism
and a liberal democracy
) and the dissident group of Gheorghe I. Brătianu
(see National Liberal Party-Brătianu
).
Undersecretary in the Interior Affairs Ministry under several PNL cabinets (beginning with that of Ion I. C. Brătianu
in 1922-1926), he first became noted as a collaborator of Ion G. Duca
. In 1924-1936, in contrast to his post-World War II
agenda, Tătărescu was a noted anti-communist
, and reacted vehemently against the Romanian Communist Party
(PCdR, later PCR) — recommending and obtaining its outlawing, based on Communist adversity to the concept of Greater Romania
, and notably arguing that the Comintern
-supported Tatarbunary Uprising
was evidence of "imperialist
communism
".
Iron Guard
had assassinated Prime Minister Duca on 30 December 1933 (the five-day premiership of Constantin Anghelescu
ensured transition between the two governments). His was the second PNL cabinet formed during Carol's reign, and the latter's failure to draw support from the mainstream group led to a tight connection being established between Carol and the young liberals, with Tătărescu backing the process leading to the creation of a royal dictatorship
. One of Tătărescu's first measures was a decisive move to end the conflict between the National Liberal executive and the Mayor of Bucharest, Dem I. Dobrescu
(who was backed by the National Peasants' Party
) — making use of his prerogative, he removed Dobrescu from office on 18 January.
The brief period constituted a reference point in Romanian economy
, as the emergence from the Great Depression
, although marked by endemic problems, saw prosperity more widespread than ever before. This was, in part, the contribution of new economic relations which Tătărescu defended and encouraged: the state transformed itself into the main agent of economic activities, allowing for prosperous businesses to benefit from its demands, and, in time, leading to the creation of a camarilla
dominated by the figures of industrialists such as Aristide Blank, Nicolae Malaxa
, and Max Auschnitt
. In this context, Tătărescu's allegedly subservient position in front of Carol was a frequent topic of ridicule at the time. According to a hostile account of the socialist
Petre Pandrea:
Among other services rendered, he intervened in the conflict between Carol and his brother, Prince Nicholas, asking the latter to renounce either his marriage to Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti — considered a misalliance by Carol, it had not been recognized by Romanian authorities — or his princely prerogatives. Nicholas chose the latter alternative in 1937.
Inside his party, Tătărescu lost ground to Dinu Brătianu
, elected by the traditional Liberal elite as a compromise in order to ensure unity; upon his election in 1934, the latter stated:
The issue remained debated for the following two years. The party congress of July 1936 eventually elected Tătărescu to the second position in the party, that of general secretary.
with Poland
which was aimed at the Soviet Union
, and reacting against the growing regional influence of Nazi Germany
by maintaining the relevancy of the Little Entente
and establishing further contacts with the Soviets.
In August 1936, he removed Nicolae Titulescu
from the office of Foreign Minister, replacing him with Victor Antonescu
. This caused an uproar, with most of Romania's diplomatic corps
voicing their dissatisfaction. Over the following months, virtually all of Titulescu's supporters were themselves recalled (including, among others, Constantin Vişoianu
, the ambassador to Poland, Constantin Antoniade
, Romania's representative to the League of Nations
, Dimitrie Ghyka, the ambassador to Belgium
, and Caius Brediceanu
, the ambassador to Austria
) while Titulescu's adversaries, such as Antoine Bibesco
, were returned to office. Bibesco subsequently campaigned in France and the United Kingdom, in an attempt to reassure Romania's main allies that the move did not signify a change in Romania's priorities. Tătărescu was later blamed by his own party for having renounced the diplomatic course on which Romania had engaged.
In early 1937, Tătărescu rejected the proposal of Józef Beck
, Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs
, to withdraw Romania's support for Czechoslovakia
and attempt a reconciliation with Hungary
(the following year, Romania withdrew its support for the former, indicating, just before the Munich Agreement
, that it was not in a position to guarantee Czechoslovakia's frontiers). This was accompanied by Czechoslovak initiatives to establish close contacts between the Little Entente and the Soviets: a scandal erupted in the same year, when the country's ambassador to Romania, Jan Šeba, published a volume calling for Soviet-Entente military cooperation (despite the Soviet-Romanian conflict over Bessarabia
) and expressing the hope that the Soviet state would extend its borders into Western Byelorussia
and Ukraine
. Kamil Krofta
, Czechoslovakia's Foreign Minister, received criticism for having prefaced the book, and, after Tătărescu paid a visit to Czechoslovak Prime Minister Milan Hodža
, Šeba was recalled to Prague
.
(PCR) and outlawing its Popular Front
-type organizations (see Amicii URSS
).
In April 1936, he and the Minister of the Interior Ion Inculeţ
allowed the a youth congress to gather in Târgu Mureş, aware of the fact that it was masking a fascist gathering; delegates to the congress, traveling in a special train commissioned by the government, vandalized Ion Duca's memorial plate in Sinaia train station
, and, upon their arrival in Târgu Mureş, made public their violent anti-Semitic
agenda. It was probably there that death squad
s were designated and assigned missions, leading to the murder of Mihai Stelescu
, a former associate, in June of the next year.
In February 1937, an intense publicity campaign by the Guard, begun with the ostentatious funerals
of Ion Moţa
and Vasile Marin
(killed in the Spanish Civil War
) and culminating in the physical assaulting of Traian Bratu, rector
of the University of Iaşi, by Guardist students, provoked the premier's order to close down universities throughout the country.
Later in that year, the collaboration between monarch and premier, coupled with the fact that Tătărescu had successfully attracted nationalist
votes from the Iron Guard, led to the signing of an electoral agreement between the latter, the National Peasants' Party
(the main democratic opposition group), and the National Liberal Party-Brătianu
— the pact was meant to prevent all attempt by Carol to manipulate the votes in elections. (A secondary and unexpected development was that the illegal PCR, which had decided to back the National Peasants' Party prior to the elections, eventually supported the electoral pact.) Tătărescu's own alliance policy rose the anger of his opponents inside the PNL, as he signed collaboration agreements with the fascist Romanian Front
and German Party
.
The 1937 elections
led to an unprecedented situation: although the PNL and Tătărescu had gained the largest percentage of the vote (almost 36%), they fell short of being awarded majority bonus
(granted at 40% of the vote). As the far right
had gathered momentum (the Guard, running under the name of "Everything for the Fatherland Party", had obtained 15.6 of the vote), Carol was faced with the threat of an Iron Guard government, which would have been one deeply opposed to all of his political principles: he called on a third party, Octavian Goga
's National Christian Party
(coming from the anti-Semitic far right but deeply opposed to the Guard) to form a new cabinet in December of that year.
Consequently, Tătărescu renounced his offices inside the party, and, while keeping his office of general secretary, he was surpassed by the readmitted Gheorghe I. Brătianu
— who was elected to the new office of PNL vice president on 10 January 1938. After the failure of Goga's policies to curb the rise of their competitors, the king, backed by Tătărescu, resorted to dissolving all political parties on 30 May 1938, creating instead the National Renaissance Front
.
, leader of the National Peasants' Party's and, for the following years, the closest of Dinu Brătianu's political allies.
Soon after his second arrival to power, Tătărescu became noted for the enthusiastic support he gave to the modernist
sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi
, and directed state funds to finance the building of Brancusi's The Endless Column complex in Târgu Jiu
(completed in October 1938).
Alongside Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
and Constantin Argetoianu
(whom he succeeded as Premier), Tătărescu became a dominant figure in the group of maverick pro-Carol politicians. After a bloody crackdown on the Iron Guard, the Front attempted to reunite political forces in a national government
that was to back Carol's foreign policies in view of increasing threats on Romania's borders after the outbreak of World War II
. In 1945, Tătărescu stressed his belief that authoritarianism
benefited Romania, and supported the view that Carol had meant to keep Romania out of the war. Tătărescu's second cabinet was meant to reflect the latter policies, but it did not draw any support from traditional parties, and, in April 1940, Carol, assisted by Ernest Urdăreanu and Mihail Ghelmegeanu, began talks with the (by then much weaker) Iron Guard.
Tătărescu remained in office throughout the rest of the Phony War
, until the fall of France, and his cabinet signed an economic agreement with Nazi Germany
(through which virtually all Romanian exports were directed towards the latter country) and saw the crumbling of Romania's alliance with the United Kingdom and France. The cabinet was brought down by the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
to the Soviet Union (effects of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
), as well as by Carol's attempt to appease German hostility by dissolving it, replacing Tătărescu with Ion Gigurtu
, and recreating the Front as the totalitarian
Party of the Nation.
After the Second Vienna Award
(when Northern Transylvania
was lost to Hungary), confirming Carol's failure to preserve both the country's neutrality and its territorial integrity, Romania was taken over by an Iron Guard dictatorial government (the National Legionary State
). Speaking five years later, Dinu Brătianu
placed the blame for the serious developments on Tătărescu's own actions, addressing him directly:
On 26 November 1940, the Iron Guard began a bloody retaliation
against various political figures who had served under Carol (following a late investigation into the 1938 killing of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
, the movement's founder and early leader, by Carol's authorities). Tătărescu and Constantin Argetoianu
were among the second wave of captured politicians (on 27 November), and were destined for arbitrary execution; they were, however, saved by the intervention of regular police
forces, most of whom had grown hostile to the Guardist militia
s.
Retired from political life during the war, he was initially sympathetic to Ion Antonescu
's pro-German dictatorship (see Romania during World War II
) — Dinu Brătianu, who remained in opposition to the Antonescu regime, made mention an official visit to Bessarabia, recovered after the start of Operation Barbarossa
, when Tătărescu had accompanied Antonescu, "thus making common cause with his warmongering action". At the time, his daughter Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes worked as an ambulance
driver for the Romanian Red Cross
.
In the end, Tătărescu became involved in negotiations aimed at withdrawing Romania from the conflict, and, while beginning talks with the Romanian Communist Party
(PCR), tried to build foreign connections to support Romania's cause following the inevitable defeat; he thus corresponded with Edvard Beneš
, leader of the Czechoslovak
government in exile
in England. Beneš, who had already been discussing matters involving Romania with Richard Franasovici and Grigore Gafencu
, and had agreed to support the Romanian cause, informed the Allied governments
of Tătărescu's designs.
Tătărescu later contrasted his diplomatic approach with the strategy of Barbu Ştirbey
(who had only attempted an agreement with the Western Allies
in Cairo
, instead of opening relations with the Soviets). Initially meeting with the refusal of Iuliu Maniu
and Dinu Brătianu (who decided to invest their trust in Ştirbey), he was relatively successful after the Cairo initiative proved fruitless: the two traditional parties accepted collaboration with the bloc formed by the PCR, the Romanian Social Democratic Party
, the Ploughmen's Front
, and the Socialist Peasants' Party, leading to the formation of the short-lived and unstable National Democratic Bloc (BND) in June 1944. It overthrew Antonescu in August, by means of the successful King Michael Coup.
had entered Romania and the country had become an Allied state, political parties were again allowed to register. Nevertheless, Tătărescu was again opposed to the party leaders Dinu and Gheorghe I. Brătianu
, and split to form his own group in June-July 1945. Dinu Brătianu convened the PNL leadership and formally excluded Tătărescu and his partisans, citing their support for dictatorial regimes.
As the PCR, which was growing more influent (with the backing of Soviet occupation
) while generally lacking popular appeal, sought to form alliances with various forces in order to increase its backing, Tătărescu declared his group to be left-wing and Social liberal
, while attempting to preserve a middle course in the new political setting, by pleading for close relations to be maintained with both the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. N. D. Cocea
, a prominent socialist who had joined the PNL, represented the faction in talks for an alliance with the Communists. The agreement, favored by Ana Pauker
, was vehemently opposed by another member of the Communist leadership, Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
, who argued in favor of "making a distinction inside the bourgeoisie
", and collaborating with the main PNL, while calling Tătărescu's faction "a gang of con artists
, blackmail
ers, and well-known bribers".
Tătărescu became Foreign Minister and vice president of the government in the cabinet of Petru Groza
when the latter came into office after Soviet pressures in 1945; his faction had been awarded leadership of four other ministries — Finance, with three successive office-holders (of whom the last was Alexandru Alexandrini), Public Works, with Gheorghe Vântu, Industry (with Petre N. Bejan), and Religious Affairs, with Radu Roşculeţ. He indirectly helped the PCR carry out an electoral fraud
during the general election in 1946
by failing to reply to American proposals for organizing fair elections. At the Paris Conference
, where he was accompanied by the PCR leaders Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
and Pătrăşcanu, he acknowledged the dissolution of Greater Romania
under the provisions of the new Treaty (1947).
under a new regime. Of himself and his principles, Tătărescu stated:
Speaking in retrospect, Gheorghiu-Dej indicated the actual relation between his party and Tătărescu's: "we have had to tolerate by our side a capitalist
-gentry
political group, Tătărescu's group".
Tătărescu himself continued to show his support for several PCR policies: in the summer of 1947, he condemned the United States for having protested against the repression of forces in the opposition. Nevertheless, at around the same time, he issued his own critique of the Groza government, becoming the target of violent attacks initiated by Miron Constantinescu
in the PCR press. Consequently, he was singled out for negligence in office when, during the kangaroo trial
of Iuliu Maniu
(see Tămădău Affair
), it was alleged that several employees of his ministry had conspired
against the government. Scînteia
, the official voice of the PCR, wrote of all National Liberal Party-Tătărescu offices in the government: "The rot is all-encompassing! It has to be removed!".
Tătărescu resigned his office on 6 November 1947, and was replaced by the Communist Ana Pauker
. For the following two months, he was sidelined in his own party by PCR pressures, and removed from its leadership in January 1948 (being replaced with Petre N. Bejan — the party was subsequently known as National Liberal Party-Petre N. Bejan). One of his last actions as cabinet member had been to sign the document officially rejecting the Marshall Plan
.
After the proclamation of the People's Republic of Romania
on 30 December 1947, the existence of all parties other than the PCR had become purely formal, and, after the elections of 28 March the single-party state
was confirmed by legislation. He was arrested on 5 May 1950, and held in the notorious Sighet prison
(alongside three of his brothers — Ştefan Tătărescu included — and his former collaborator Bejan). His son Tudor, who was living in Paris, suffered from schizophrenia
after 1950, and had to be committed to an institution (where he died in 1955). Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes was also imprisoned in 1950, and released three years later, upon the death of Joseph Stalin
.
One of Gheorghe Tătărescu's last appearances in public was his stand as one of the prosecution's witnesses in the 1954 trial of Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
, when he claimed that the defendant had been infiltrated into the PCR during the time when he had been premier (Pătrăşcanu was posthumously cleared of all charges). Released in 1955, Tătărescu died in Bucharest
, less than two years later. According to Sanda Tătărescu Negropontes, this came as a result of tuberculosis
contracted while in detention.
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 politician who served twice as Prime Minister of Romania
Prime Minister of Romania
The Prime Minister of Romania is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers , when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called The Council of Ministers...
(1934–1937; 1939–1940), three times as Minister of Foreign Affairs (interim in 1934 and 1938; appointed to the office in 1945-1947), and once as Minister of War
Ministry of National Defence of Romania
The Ministry of National Defense is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania. the Minister of Defense is Gabriel Oprea.-Ministry:...
(1934). Representing the "young liberals" faction inside the National Liberal Party
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
(PNL), Tătărescu began his political career as a collaborator of Ion G. Duca
Ion G. Duca
Ion Gheorghe Duca was prime minister of Romania from November 14 to December 30, 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.-Life and political career:...
, becoming noted for his anti-Communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
and, in time, for his conflicts with the PNL's leader Dinu Brătianu
Dinu Bratianu
Dinu Brătianu , born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian politician, who led the National Liberal Party starting with 1934.-Early career:...
and the Foreign Minister Nicolae Titulescu
Nicolae Titulescu
Nicolae Titulescu was a well-known Romanian diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms President of the General Assembly of the League of Nations . He was a member of the Freemasonry.-Early years:...
. During his first time in office, he moved closer to King
King of Romania
King of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol II
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
, leading an ambivalent policy toward the fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
and ultimately becoming instrumental in establishing the authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
and corporatist
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
regime around the National Renaissance Front
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front was a fascist Romanian political party created by King Carol II in 1938 as the single monopoly party of government following his decision to ban all other political parties and suspend the 1923 Constitution, and the passing of the 1938 Constitution of Romania...
. In 1940, he accepted the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and consequently had to resign.
After the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gheorghe Tătărescu initiated a move to rally political forces in opposition to Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
's dictatorship, and sought an alliance with the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
(PCR). He was twice expelled from the PNL, in 1938 and 1944, creating instead his own group, the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu, and representing it inside the Communist-endorsed Petru Groza
Petru Groza
Petru Groza was a Romanian politician, best known as the Prime Minister of the first Communist Party-dominated governments under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Communist regime in Romania....
cabinet. In 1946-1947, he was also the President of the Romanian Delegation to the Peace Conference
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. After that moment, relations between Tătărescu and the PCR began to sour, and he was replaced from the leadership of both his own party and the Foreign Ministry when his name was implicated in the Tămădău Affair
Tamadau Affair
The Tămădău Affair was an incident that took place in Romania in the summer of 1947, the source of a political scandal and show trial.It was provoked when an important number of National Peasants' Party leaders, including party vice president Ion Mihalache, had been offered a chance to flee...
. Following the Communist takeover
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
, he was arrested and held as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
, while being called to testify in the trial of Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
Lucretiu Patrascanu
Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania , also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at Bucharest University...
. He died soon after his release from prison.
Elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
in 1937, he was removed from his seat by the Communist authorities in 1948. One of his brothers, Colonel Ştefan Tătărescu, was at some point the leader of a minor Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
group, the National Socialist Party
National Socialist Party (Romania)
The National Socialist Party was a mimetic National socialist political party active in Romania during the early 1930s....
.
Early life and politics
Born in Târgu JiuTârgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu is the capital of Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight villages are administered by the city: Bârseşti, Drăgoeni, Iezureni, Polata, Preajba Mare, Româneşti, Slobozia and Ursaţi.-History:The city takes its name...
, Tătărescu studied at Carol I High School in Craiova
Craiova
Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
. He later went to France, where he was awarded a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1912, with a thesis on the Romanian parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
(Le régime électoral et parlementaire en Roumanie). He subsequently worked as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He fathered a son, Tudor, and a daughter, Sanda (married to the lawyer Ulise Negropontes in 1940).
After joining the National Liberal Party
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
(PNL), he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
for the first time in November 1919, representing Gorj County
Gorj County
Gorj is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu.- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 387,308 and its population density was 69/km².* Romanians – over 98%* Rromas, others.- Geography :...
. Among his first notable actions as a politician was an initiative to interpellate Nicolae L. Lupu
Nicolae L. Lupu
Dr. Nicolae Lupu was a Romanian politician and medical doctor, active in the National Peasants' Party....
, the Minister of Interior Affairs Ministry in the Romanian National Party
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party , initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat , was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Transleithanian half of Austria-Hungary, and especially to those in...
-Peasants' Party
Peasants' Party (Romania)
The Peasants' Party was a political party in post-World War I Romania that espoused a left-wing ideology partly connected with Agrarianism and Populism, and aimed to represent the interests of the Romanian peasantry. Through many of its leaders, the party was connected with Romanian populism , a...
cabinet, in answer to concerns that the executive was tolerating socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
agitation in the countryside.
He stood among the PNL's "young liberals" faction (as they were colloquially known), supporting free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and a more authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
rule over the country around King
King of Romania
King of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol II
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
, and opposing both the older generation of leaders (who tended to advocate protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
and a liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
) and the dissident group of Gheorghe I. Brătianu
Gheorghe I. Bratianu
Gheorghe I. Brătianu was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party, he broke away from the movement to create and lead the National Liberal Party-Brătianu.Born in Ruginoasa, Baia County to Ion I.C...
(see National Liberal Party-Brătianu
National Liberal Party-Bratianu
The National Liberal Party-Brătianu was a right-wing political party in Romania, formed as a splinter group from the main liberal faction, the National Liberals. For its symbol, PNL-Brătianu chose three vertical bars, placed at equal distance from each other...
).
Undersecretary in the Interior Affairs Ministry under several PNL cabinets (beginning with that of Ion I. C. Brătianu
Ion I. C. Bratianu
Ion I. C. Brătianu was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party , the Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on several occasions; he was the eldest son of statesman and PNL leader Ion Brătianu, the brother of Vintilă and Dinu Brătianu, and the father of...
in 1922-1926), he first became noted as a collaborator of Ion G. Duca
Ion G. Duca
Ion Gheorghe Duca was prime minister of Romania from November 14 to December 30, 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.-Life and political career:...
. In 1924-1936, in contrast to his post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
agenda, Tătărescu was a noted anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
, and reacted vehemently against the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
(PCdR, later PCR) — recommending and obtaining its outlawing, based on Communist adversity to the concept of Greater Romania
Greater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
, and notably arguing that the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
-supported Tatarbunary Uprising
Tatarbunary Uprising
The Tatarbunary Uprising was a Bolshevik-inspired peasant revolt that took place on 15–18 September 1924, in and around the town of Tatarbunary in Budjak , then part of Greater Romania, now part of Odessa Oblast, Ukraine...
was evidence of "imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
".
Context
Tătărescu became leader of the cabinet in January 1934, as the fascistFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
had assassinated Prime Minister Duca on 30 December 1933 (the five-day premiership of Constantin Anghelescu
Constantin Anghelescu
Constantin Angelescu was a Romanian politician who served as an interim Prime Minister of Romania for five days, between 30 December 1933 and 3 January 1934....
ensured transition between the two governments). His was the second PNL cabinet formed during Carol's reign, and the latter's failure to draw support from the mainstream group led to a tight connection being established between Carol and the young liberals, with Tătărescu backing the process leading to the creation of a royal dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
. One of Tătărescu's first measures was a decisive move to end the conflict between the National Liberal executive and the Mayor of Bucharest, Dem I. Dobrescu
Dem I. Dobrescu
Dem I. Dobrescu was a Romanian left-wing politician who served as Mayor of Bucharest between February 1929 and January 1934....
(who was backed by the National Peasants' Party
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party was a Romanian political party, formed in 1926 through the fusion of the Romanian National Party from Transylvania and the Peasants' Party . It was in power between 1928 and 1933, with brief interruptions...
) — making use of his prerogative, he removed Dobrescu from office on 18 January.
The brief period constituted a reference point in Romanian economy
Economy of Romania
Romania has a developing, upper-middle income market economy, the 11th largest in the European Union by total nominal GDP and the 8th largest based on purchasing power parity...
, as the emergence from the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, although marked by endemic problems, saw prosperity more widespread than ever before. This was, in part, the contribution of new economic relations which Tătărescu defended and encouraged: the state transformed itself into the main agent of economic activities, allowing for prosperous businesses to benefit from its demands, and, in time, leading to the creation of a camarilla
Camarilla (history)
A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice...
dominated by the figures of industrialists such as Aristide Blank, Nicolae Malaxa
Nicolae Malaxa
-Biography:Born in a family of Greek origins in Huşi, Malaxa studied engineering in Iaşi and Karlsruhe...
, and Max Auschnitt
Max Auschnitt
Max Auschnitt, also known as Auschnit or Auşnit , was a Romanian industrialist and rival of Nicolae Malaxa, who played an important role before World War II. Together with Aristide Blank and Malaxa, he was one of the major businessmen present in King Carol II's camarilla...
. In this context, Tătărescu's allegedly subservient position in front of Carol was a frequent topic of ridicule at the time. According to a hostile account of the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
Petre Pandrea:
"Tătărescu was ceremonious in order to cover his menial nature. When he was leaving audiences [with the King], he pressed forward on the small of his back and returned facing backwards from the desk to the door, not daring to show his back. [...] Watching over the scene [...], Carol II exclaimed to his intimate assistants:
— I don't have a big enough tooshie for all the politicians to kiss!"
Among other services rendered, he intervened in the conflict between Carol and his brother, Prince Nicholas, asking the latter to renounce either his marriage to Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti — considered a misalliance by Carol, it had not been recognized by Romanian authorities — or his princely prerogatives. Nicholas chose the latter alternative in 1937.
Inside his party, Tătărescu lost ground to Dinu Brătianu
Dinu Bratianu
Dinu Brătianu , born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian politician, who led the National Liberal Party starting with 1934.-Early career:...
, elected by the traditional Liberal elite as a compromise in order to ensure unity; upon his election in 1934, the latter stated:
"This time as well, I would have gladly conceded, if I were to believe that anyone else in the party could gather voter unanimity."
The issue remained debated for the following two years. The party congress of July 1936 eventually elected Tătărescu to the second position in the party, that of general secretary.
European politics
In his foreign policy, Prime Minister Tătărescu balanced two different priorities, attempting to strengthen the traditional military alliancePolish-Romanian Alliance
The Polish–Romanian Alliance was a series of treaties signed in the interwar period by the Second Polish Republic and the Kingdom of Romania. The first of them was signed in 1921 and, together, the treaties formed a basis for good foreign relations between the two countries that lasted until World...
with Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
which was aimed at the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and reacting against the growing regional influence of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
by maintaining the relevancy of the Little Entente
Little Entente
The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revision and the prevention of a Habsburg restoration...
and establishing further contacts with the Soviets.
In August 1936, he removed Nicolae Titulescu
Nicolae Titulescu
Nicolae Titulescu was a well-known Romanian diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms President of the General Assembly of the League of Nations . He was a member of the Freemasonry.-Early years:...
from the office of Foreign Minister, replacing him with Victor Antonescu
Victor Antonescu
Victor Antonescu was a Minister of Finance between 1935 and 1936 and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania from 29 August 1936 until 28 December 1937. In 1946, he was part of the Romanian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference....
. This caused an uproar, with most of Romania's diplomatic corps
Diplomatic corps
The diplomatic corps or corps diplomatique is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission who represent their countries in another state or country...
voicing their dissatisfaction. Over the following months, virtually all of Titulescu's supporters were themselves recalled (including, among others, Constantin Vişoianu
Constantin Visoianu
Constantin Vișoianu was a Romanian jurist, diplomat and politician....
, the ambassador to Poland, Constantin Antoniade
Constantin Antoniade
Constantin Antoniade was a Romanian jurist, writer, historian, philosopher and diplomat.As a historian he was a concerned mainly with the Renaissance. He also translated works of John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle into Romanian....
, Romania's representative to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, Dimitrie Ghyka, the ambassador to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and Caius Brediceanu
Caius Brediceanu
Caius Brediceanu was a Romanian politician and diplomat.-Biography:Caius Brediceanu was born in Lugoj, being the second son of Coriolan Brediceanu. He started his studies in, continuing them in the German gymnasium in Sebeş, the German lyceum in Sibiu, and thereafter in Bucharest and Iaşi...
, the ambassador to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) while Titulescu's adversaries, such as Antoine Bibesco
Antoine Bibesco
Antoine, Prince Bibesco was a Romanian aristocrat, lawyer, diplomat and writer.- Biography :His father was Prince Alexandre Bibesco, the last surviving son of the Hospodar of Wallachia. His mother was Helene Epourano, daughter of a former Prime Minister of Romania...
, were returned to office. Bibesco subsequently campaigned in France and the United Kingdom, in an attempt to reassure Romania's main allies that the move did not signify a change in Romania's priorities. Tătărescu was later blamed by his own party for having renounced the diplomatic course on which Romania had engaged.
In early 1937, Tătărescu rejected the proposal of Józef Beck
Józef Beck
' was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski...
, Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Polish government department tasked with maintaining Poland's international relations and coordinating its participation in international and regional supra-national political organisations such as the European Union and United Nations. It is considered to be...
, to withdraw Romania's support for Czechoslovakia
First Republic of Czechoslovakia
-Independence:The Czechoslovak declaration of independence was published by the Czechoslovak National Council, signed by Masaryk, Štefánik and Beneš on October 18, 1918 in Paris, and proclaimed on October 28 in Prague...
and attempt a reconciliation with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(the following year, Romania withdrew its support for the former, indicating, just before the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
, that it was not in a position to guarantee Czechoslovakia's frontiers). This was accompanied by Czechoslovak initiatives to establish close contacts between the Little Entente and the Soviets: a scandal erupted in the same year, when the country's ambassador to Romania, Jan Šeba, published a volume calling for Soviet-Entente military cooperation (despite the Soviet-Romanian conflict over Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
) and expressing the hope that the Soviet state would extend its borders into Western Byelorussia
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Kamil Krofta
Kamil Krofta
Kamil Krofta was Czech historian and diplomat.-Life and career:Born and schooled in Plzeň, he studied philosophy in Prague starting in 1894, then from 1896 to 1899 in Vienna. From 1899 to 1901 he studied in the Vatican Archives. From 1901 he worked at the National Archives...
, Czechoslovakia's Foreign Minister, received criticism for having prefaced the book, and, after Tătărescu paid a visit to Czechoslovak Prime Minister Milan Hodža
Milan Hodža
Milan Hodža was a prominent Slovak politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and in December 1935 as the acting President of Czechoslovakia...
, Šeba was recalled to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Facing the Iron Guard
In combating the Iron Guard, Tătărescu chose to relax virtually all pressures on the latter (while mimicking some of its messages), and instead concentrated again on curbing the activities of the Romanian Communist PartyRomanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
(PCR) and outlawing its Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
-type organizations (see Amicii URSS
Amicii URSS
Amicii URSS was a cultural association in interwar Romania, uniting left-wing and anti-fascist intellectuals who advocated a détente between their country and Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union Amicii URSS (Romanian for "[The] Friends of the Soviet Union"; , occasionally known as Prietenii URSS , which...
).
In April 1936, he and the Minister of the Interior Ion Inculeţ
Ion Inculet
Ion C. Inculeț was a Bessarabian politician and the president of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. Also, he was a minister in Romania.-Early career:...
allowed the a youth congress to gather in Târgu Mureş, aware of the fact that it was masking a fascist gathering; delegates to the congress, traveling in a special train commissioned by the government, vandalized Ion Duca's memorial plate in Sinaia train station
Sinaia train station
The Sinaia train station serves the Sinaia mountain resort in Romania. The first station was built in 1913 by the Demeter Cartner Company, and it was reserved exclusively for the Royal Family and its guests at Peleş Castle, generally foreign leaders. On the station platform, there is a memorial...
, and, upon their arrival in Târgu Mureş, made public their violent anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
agenda. It was probably there that death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
s were designated and assigned missions, leading to the murder of Mihai Stelescu
Mihai Stelescu
-With the Iron Guard:Born in Galaţi, he joined, while still in high school, the Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist, Fascist, and anti-Semitic political movement led by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu....
, a former associate, in June of the next year.
In February 1937, an intense publicity campaign by the Guard, begun with the ostentatious funerals
Funerals of Ion Moţa and Vasile Marin
The Funerals of Ion Moţa and Vasile Marin were a series of wide-scale manifestations in Romania. The two leaders of the Iron Guard were killed in battle on the same day, January 13, 1937, at Majadahonda during the Spanish Civil War while fighting on the side of the Nationalist Spain.The funerary...
of Ion Moţa
Ion Mota
Ion I. Moţa [or Motza] was the Romanian fascist deputy leader of the Iron Guard killed in battle during the Spanish Civil War.-Biography:...
and Vasile Marin
Vasile Marin
Vasile Marin was a Romanian politician, public servant and lawyer. A member of the National Peasants' Party until 1932, Vasile Marin become a prominent member of the Iron Guard.- Biography :...
(killed in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
) and culminating in the physical assaulting of Traian Bratu, rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the University of Iaşi, by Guardist students, provoked the premier's order to close down universities throughout the country.
Later in that year, the collaboration between monarch and premier, coupled with the fact that Tătărescu had successfully attracted nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
votes from the Iron Guard, led to the signing of an electoral agreement between the latter, the National Peasants' Party
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party was a Romanian political party, formed in 1926 through the fusion of the Romanian National Party from Transylvania and the Peasants' Party . It was in power between 1928 and 1933, with brief interruptions...
(the main democratic opposition group), and the National Liberal Party-Brătianu
National Liberal Party-Bratianu
The National Liberal Party-Brătianu was a right-wing political party in Romania, formed as a splinter group from the main liberal faction, the National Liberals. For its symbol, PNL-Brătianu chose three vertical bars, placed at equal distance from each other...
— the pact was meant to prevent all attempt by Carol to manipulate the votes in elections. (A secondary and unexpected development was that the illegal PCR, which had decided to back the National Peasants' Party prior to the elections, eventually supported the electoral pact.) Tătărescu's own alliance policy rose the anger of his opponents inside the PNL, as he signed collaboration agreements with the fascist Romanian Front
Romanian Front
The Romanian Front was a Fascist party created in 1935 - being led by Alexandru Vaida-Voevod as a splinter group from the National Peasants' Party.-History:...
and German Party
German Party (Romania)
The German Party was a political party in post-World War I Romania, claiming to represent the entire ethnic German community.The German Party went through a rather lengthy period of creation. It was founded on the initiative of part of the ethnic German bourgeoisie at Timişoara on September 6,...
.
The 1937 elections
Romanian general election, 1937
General elections were held in Romania on 20 and 22 December 1937. It was Romania's last election before King Carol II dissolved Parliament and instituted a royal dictatorship the following February. By the next elections under the 1923 Constitution, Romania had passed through two dictatorships and...
led to an unprecedented situation: although the PNL and Tătărescu had gained the largest percentage of the vote (almost 36%), they fell short of being awarded majority bonus
Majority bonus
Majority bonus is a feature in an electoral system, which gives the party with the most votes extra seats or representation in an elected body. It is used in Italy, Greece and Malta.-References:...
(granted at 40% of the vote). As the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
had gathered momentum (the Guard, running under the name of "Everything for the Fatherland Party", had obtained 15.6 of the vote), Carol was faced with the threat of an Iron Guard government, which would have been one deeply opposed to all of his political principles: he called on a third party, Octavian Goga
Octavian Goga
Octavian Goga was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator.-Life:Born in Răşinari, nearby Sibiu, he was an active member in the Romanian nationalistic movement in Transylvania and of its leading group, the Romanian National Party in Austria-Hungary. Before World War I,...
's National Christian Party
National Christian Party
The National Christian Party was a Romanian political party, the product of a union between Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Christian Defense League; a prominent member of the party was the philosopher Nichifor Crainic...
(coming from the anti-Semitic far right but deeply opposed to the Guard) to form a new cabinet in December of that year.
Consequently, Tătărescu renounced his offices inside the party, and, while keeping his office of general secretary, he was surpassed by the readmitted Gheorghe I. Brătianu
Gheorghe I. Bratianu
Gheorghe I. Brătianu was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party, he broke away from the movement to create and lead the National Liberal Party-Brătianu.Born in Ruginoasa, Baia County to Ion I.C...
— who was elected to the new office of PNL vice president on 10 January 1938. After the failure of Goga's policies to curb the rise of their competitors, the king, backed by Tătărescu, resorted to dissolving all political parties on 30 May 1938, creating instead the National Renaissance Front
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front was a fascist Romanian political party created by King Carol II in 1938 as the single monopoly party of government following his decision to ban all other political parties and suspend the 1923 Constitution, and the passing of the 1938 Constitution of Romania...
.
Second cabinet
In this context, Tătărescu chose to back the regime, as the PNL, like the National Peasants' Party, remained active in nominal clandestinity (as the law banning it had never been enforced any further). Having personally signed the document banning opposition parties, he was expelled from the PNL in April 1938, and contested the legitimacy of the action for the following years. Allegedly, his ousting was recommended by Iuliu ManiuIuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
, leader of the National Peasants' Party's and, for the following years, the closest of Dinu Brătianu's political allies.
Soon after his second arrival to power, Tătărescu became noted for the enthusiastic support he gave to the modernist
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
, and directed state funds to finance the building of Brancusi's The Endless Column complex in Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu is the capital of Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight villages are administered by the city: Bârseşti, Drăgoeni, Iezureni, Polata, Preajba Mare, Româneşti, Slobozia and Ursaţi.-History:The city takes its name...
(completed in October 1938).
Alongside Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod or Vaida-Voievod was a Romanian politician who was a supporter and promoter of the union of Transylvania with the Romanian Old Kingdom; he later served three terms as a Prime Minister of Greater Romania.-Transylvanian politics:He was born to a Greek-Catholic family in the...
and Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu was a Romanian politician, one of the best-known personalities of interwar Greater Romania, who served as the Prime Minister between September 28 and November 23, 1939. His memoirs, Memorii. Pentru cei de mâine. Amintiri din vremea celor de ieri Constantin Argetoianu...
(whom he succeeded as Premier), Tătărescu became a dominant figure in the group of maverick pro-Carol politicians. After a bloody crackdown on the Iron Guard, the Front attempted to reunite political forces in a national government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
that was to back Carol's foreign policies in view of increasing threats on Romania's borders after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1945, Tătărescu stressed his belief that authoritarianism
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
benefited Romania, and supported the view that Carol had meant to keep Romania out of the war. Tătărescu's second cabinet was meant to reflect the latter policies, but it did not draw any support from traditional parties, and, in April 1940, Carol, assisted by Ernest Urdăreanu and Mihail Ghelmegeanu, began talks with the (by then much weaker) Iron Guard.
Tătărescu remained in office throughout the rest of the Phony War
Phony War
The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II – in the months following Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany in September 1939 and preceding the Battle of France in May 1940 – that was marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against the German Reich...
, until the fall of France, and his cabinet signed an economic agreement with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
(through which virtually all Romanian exports were directed towards the latter country) and saw the crumbling of Romania's alliance with the United Kingdom and France. The cabinet was brought down by the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
to the Soviet Union (effects of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
), as well as by Carol's attempt to appease German hostility by dissolving it, replacing Tătărescu with Ion Gigurtu
Ion Gigurtu
Ion Gigurtu was a Romanian politician, Land Forces officer, engineer and industrialist who served a brief term as Prime Minister from July 4 to September 4, 1940, under the personal regime of King Carol II. A specialist in mining and veteran of both the Second Balkan War and World War I, he made a...
, and recreating the Front as the totalitarian
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
Party of the Nation.
World War
Second Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award was the second of two Vienna Awards arbitrated by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Rendered on August 30, 1940, it re-assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.-Prelude and historical background :After the World War I, the multi-ethnic...
(when Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania is a region of Transylvania, situated within the territory of Romania. The population is largely composed of both ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, and the region has been part of Romania since 1918 . During World War II, as a consequence of the territorial agreement known as...
was lost to Hungary), confirming Carol's failure to preserve both the country's neutrality and its territorial integrity, Romania was taken over by an Iron Guard dictatorial government (the National Legionary State
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was the Romanian government from September 6, 1940 to January 23, 1941. It was a single-party regime dictatorship dominated by the overtly fascist Iron Guard in uneasy conjunction with the head of government and Conducător Ion Antonescu, the leader of the Romanian...
). Speaking five years later, Dinu Brătianu
Dinu Bratianu
Dinu Brătianu , born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian politician, who led the National Liberal Party starting with 1934.-Early career:...
placed the blame for the serious developments on Tătărescu's own actions, addressing him directly:
"I remind you: [...] you have contributed directly, in 1940, in steering the country towards a foreign policy that, as one could tell even then, was to prove ill-fated and which led us to the loathsome Vienna settlement, one which you have supported inside the Crown CouncilCrown CouncilCrown Council may refer to:* Crown Council of Belgium, the King, his Ministers and the Ministers of State, meeting on rare occasions to advise the King* Crown Council of Ethiopia, the constitutional body advising the reigning Emperors of Ethiopia...
[...]."
On 26 November 1940, the Iron Guard began a bloody retaliation
Jilava Massacre
The Jilava Massacre took place during the night beginning on November 26, 1940, at Jilava penitentiary, near Bucharest, Romania. 64 political detainees were killed by the Iron Guard , with further high-profile assassinations in the immediate aftermath...
against various political figures who had served under Carol (following a late investigation into the 1938 killing of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...
, the movement's founder and early leader, by Carol's authorities). Tătărescu and Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu was a Romanian politician, one of the best-known personalities of interwar Greater Romania, who served as the Prime Minister between September 28 and November 23, 1939. His memoirs, Memorii. Pentru cei de mâine. Amintiri din vremea celor de ieri Constantin Argetoianu...
were among the second wave of captured politicians (on 27 November), and were destined for arbitrary execution; they were, however, saved by the intervention of regular police
Romanian Police
The Romanian Police is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.-Duties:The Romanian Police are responsible for:...
forces, most of whom had grown hostile to the Guardist militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
s.
Retired from political life during the war, he was initially sympathetic to Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
's pro-German dictatorship (see Romania during World War II
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
) — Dinu Brătianu, who remained in opposition to the Antonescu regime, made mention an official visit to Bessarabia, recovered after the start of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, when Tătărescu had accompanied Antonescu, "thus making common cause with his warmongering action". At the time, his daughter Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes worked as an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
driver for the Romanian Red Cross
Romanian Red Cross
The Romanian Red Cross , also known as the Romanian National Red Cross , is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside Romania...
.
In the end, Tătărescu became involved in negotiations aimed at withdrawing Romania from the conflict, and, while beginning talks with the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
(PCR), tried to build foreign connections to support Romania's cause following the inevitable defeat; he thus corresponded with Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
, leader of the Czechoslovak
First Republic of Czechoslovakia
-Independence:The Czechoslovak declaration of independence was published by the Czechoslovak National Council, signed by Masaryk, Štefánik and Beneš on October 18, 1918 in Paris, and proclaimed on October 28 in Prague...
government in exile
Government in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
in England. Beneš, who had already been discussing matters involving Romania with Richard Franasovici and Grigore Gafencu
Grigore Gafencu
Grigore Gafencu was a Romanian politician, diplomat and journalist.-Political career:Gafencu studied law and received his Ph.D. in law from the University of Bucharest. During World War I, he participated as a lieutenant and received the Mihai Viteazul Order for courage in battle...
, and had agreed to support the Romanian cause, informed the Allied governments
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
of Tătărescu's designs.
Tătărescu later contrasted his diplomatic approach with the strategy of Barbu Ştirbey
Barbu Stirbey
Prince Barbu Ştirbey was briefly Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania in 1927. He was the son of Prince Alexandru Ştirbey and his wife Maria Ghika-Comăneşti, and grandson of another Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbey , who was Prince of Wallachia and died in 1869.He married Princess Nadèje Bibescu about...
(who had only attempted an agreement with the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, instead of opening relations with the Soviets). Initially meeting with the refusal of Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
and Dinu Brătianu (who decided to invest their trust in Ştirbey), he was relatively successful after the Cairo initiative proved fruitless: the two traditional parties accepted collaboration with the bloc formed by the PCR, the Romanian Social Democratic Party
Romanian Social Democratic Party (defunct)
The Romanian Social Democratic Party was a social-democratic political party in Romania. It published the magazine România Muncitoare, and later Socialismul, Lumea Nouă, and Libertatea.-Early party:...
, the Ploughmen's Front
Ploughmen's Front
The Ploughmen's Front was a Romanian left-wing agrarian-inspired political organisation of ploughmen, founded at Deva in 1933 and led by Petru Groza. At its peak in 1946, the Front had over 1 million members.-History:...
, and the Socialist Peasants' Party, leading to the formation of the short-lived and unstable National Democratic Bloc (BND) in June 1944. It overthrew Antonescu in August, by means of the successful King Michael Coup.
Alliance with the Communists
Tătărescu returned to the PNL later in 1944 — after the Soviet Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had entered Romania and the country had become an Allied state, political parties were again allowed to register. Nevertheless, Tătărescu was again opposed to the party leaders Dinu and Gheorghe I. Brătianu
Gheorghe I. Bratianu
Gheorghe I. Brătianu was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party, he broke away from the movement to create and lead the National Liberal Party-Brătianu.Born in Ruginoasa, Baia County to Ion I.C...
, and split to form his own group in June-July 1945. Dinu Brătianu convened the PNL leadership and formally excluded Tătărescu and his partisans, citing their support for dictatorial regimes.
As the PCR, which was growing more influent (with the backing of Soviet occupation
Soviet occupation of Romania
The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania...
) while generally lacking popular appeal, sought to form alliances with various forces in order to increase its backing, Tătărescu declared his group to be left-wing and Social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
, while attempting to preserve a middle course in the new political setting, by pleading for close relations to be maintained with both the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but controversial figure in the field of political satire...
, a prominent socialist who had joined the PNL, represented the faction in talks for an alliance with the Communists. The agreement, favored by Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
, was vehemently opposed by another member of the Communist leadership, Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
Lucretiu Patrascanu
Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania , also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at Bucharest University...
, who argued in favor of "making a distinction inside the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
", and collaborating with the main PNL, while calling Tătărescu's faction "a gang of con artists
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
, blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ers, and well-known bribers".
Tătărescu became Foreign Minister and vice president of the government in the cabinet of Petru Groza
Petru Groza
Petru Groza was a Romanian politician, best known as the Prime Minister of the first Communist Party-dominated governments under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Communist regime in Romania....
when the latter came into office after Soviet pressures in 1945; his faction had been awarded leadership of four other ministries — Finance, with three successive office-holders (of whom the last was Alexandru Alexandrini), Public Works, with Gheorghe Vântu, Industry (with Petre N. Bejan), and Religious Affairs, with Radu Roşculeţ. He indirectly helped the PCR carry out an electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
during the general election in 1946
Romanian general election, 1946
The Romanian general election of 1946 was a general election held on November 19, 1946, in Romania. Officially, it was carried with 79.86% of the vote by the Romanian Communist Party , its allies inside the Bloc of Democratic Parties , and its associates — the Hungarian People's Union , the...
by failing to reply to American proposals for organizing fair elections. At the Paris Conference
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...
, where he was accompanied by the PCR leaders Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
and Pătrăşcanu, he acknowledged the dissolution of Greater Romania
Greater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
under the provisions of the new Treaty (1947).
1947 and after
Tensions between his group with the PCR occurred when the former founded itself as a party under the name of National-Liberal Party (commonly known as the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu), and, in June-July 1945, proclaimed its goal to be the preservation of property and a middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
under a new regime. Of himself and his principles, Tătărescu stated:
"I am not a communistCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Taking in view my attitudes towards mankind, society, property, I am not a communist. Thus, the new orientation in external politics which I demand for my country cannot be accused of being determined by affinities or sympathies of doctrine."
Speaking in retrospect, Gheorghiu-Dej indicated the actual relation between his party and Tătărescu's: "we have had to tolerate by our side a capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
-gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
political group, Tătărescu's group".
Tătărescu himself continued to show his support for several PCR policies: in the summer of 1947, he condemned the United States for having protested against the repression of forces in the opposition. Nevertheless, at around the same time, he issued his own critique of the Groza government, becoming the target of violent attacks initiated by Miron Constantinescu
Miron Constantinescu
Miron Constantinescu was a Romanian communist politician, a leading member of the Romanian Communist Party , as well as a Marxist sociologist, historian, academic, and journalist...
in the PCR press. Consequently, he was singled out for negligence in office when, during the kangaroo trial
Kangaroo court
A kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
of Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu
Iuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
(see Tămădău Affair
Tamadau Affair
The Tămădău Affair was an incident that took place in Romania in the summer of 1947, the source of a political scandal and show trial.It was provoked when an important number of National Peasants' Party leaders, including party vice president Ion Mihalache, had been offered a chance to flee...
), it was alleged that several employees of his ministry had conspired
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
against the government. Scînteia
Scînteia
Scînteia was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history...
, the official voice of the PCR, wrote of all National Liberal Party-Tătărescu offices in the government: "The rot is all-encompassing! It has to be removed!".
Tătărescu resigned his office on 6 November 1947, and was replaced by the Communist Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
. For the following two months, he was sidelined in his own party by PCR pressures, and removed from its leadership in January 1948 (being replaced with Petre N. Bejan — the party was subsequently known as National Liberal Party-Petre N. Bejan). One of his last actions as cabinet member had been to sign the document officially rejecting the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
.
After the proclamation of the People's Republic of Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
on 30 December 1947, the existence of all parties other than the PCR had become purely formal, and, after the elections of 28 March the single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
was confirmed by legislation. He was arrested on 5 May 1950, and held in the notorious Sighet prison
Sighet prison
The Sighet prison, located in the town of Sighetu Marmaţiei, Maramureş county, Romania, was used by the communist regime to hold political prisoners...
(alongside three of his brothers — Ştefan Tătărescu included — and his former collaborator Bejan). His son Tudor, who was living in Paris, suffered from schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
after 1950, and had to be committed to an institution (where he died in 1955). Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes was also imprisoned in 1950, and released three years later, upon the death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
One of Gheorghe Tătărescu's last appearances in public was his stand as one of the prosecution's witnesses in the 1954 trial of Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
Lucretiu Patrascanu
Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania , also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at Bucharest University...
, when he claimed that the defendant had been infiltrated into the PCR during the time when he had been premier (Pătrăşcanu was posthumously cleared of all charges). Released in 1955, Tătărescu died in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, less than two years later. According to Sanda Tătărescu Negropontes, this came as a result of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
contracted while in detention.