Nicolae Titulescu
Encyclopedia
Nicolae Titulescu was a well-known Romania
n diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms President of the General Assembly of the League of Nations
(1930-32). He was a member of the Freemasonry
.
to a solicitor. He passed through his childhood at his father's estate in Tituleşti
, Olt County
. Upon graduating with honours in 1900 from the Carol I High School in Craiova, he studied law in Paris
, obtaining his doctorate with the thesis Essai sur une théorie des droits éventuels.
In 1905, Titulescu returned to Romania as a professor of law at the University of Iaşi, and in 1907 he moved to Bucharest
.
, and five years later he became a member of the government of Ion I. C. Brătianu
as Minister of Finance.
In the summer of 1918, together with other prominent Romanians (Take Ionescu
, Octavian Goga
, Traian Vuia
, Constantin Mille
), Titulescu formed, in Paris
, the National Romanian Committee, with the purpose of promoting in international public opinion the right of the Romanian people to national unity, the committee being officially recognised as the plenipotentiary de facto organ of the Romanian nation.
From 1927 to 1928, Titulescu was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. (See also Savel Rădulescu
).
Beginning in 1921, Titulescu functioned as the permanent representative of Romania to the League of Nations
in Geneva
. He was chosen twice (in 1930 and 1931) to be the President
of that organization. In this capacity, he fought for the preservation of stable borders through the maintenance of peace, for good relations between both large and small neighbouring states, for the respect of the sovereignty and equality of all nations in the international community, for collective security, and the prevention of aggression.
In June 1936, Titulescu famously reacted to the buffoonery exhibited by the Italian journalists when Emperor
Haile Selassie I spoke to the League after Ethiopia had been invaded and occupied by Fascist Italy. He jumped to his feet and shouted: "To the door with the savages!" ("A la porte les sauvages!").
Carol II removed Titulescu from all official positions, asking him to leave the country. Settling first in Switzerland
, he later moved to France. While in exile, Nicolae Titulescu continued through conferences and newspaper articles to propagate the idea of the preservation of peace, perceiving the danger of a war that was to come all too soon after. He returned to Romania in November, 1937, partly through the efforts of Iuliu Maniu
.
In 1937, Titulescu again left Romania and took refuge in France. At Cannes
, he denounced the Romanian Fascist regime
. In 1941, Nicolae Titulescu died in Cannes following a long illness. In his will, he asked to be buried in Romania.
In 1989, after the fall of the communist Romanian government
during the Romanian Revolution
, Titulescu's request became possible. On 14 March 1992, his remains were reburied in the Sfânta Ecaterina cemetery in Şcheii Braşovului, next to St. Nicholas Church
, Braşov
after a difficult legal procedure organized by Jean-Paul Carteron, Attorney at Law in Paris (France).
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 diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms President of the General Assembly of 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...
(1930-32). He was a member of the Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
Early years
Nicolae Titulescu was born in CraiovaCraiova
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...
to a solicitor. He passed through his childhood at his father's estate in Tituleşti
Nicolae Titulescu, Olt
Nicolae Titulescu is a commune in Olt County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Nicolae Titulescu. It also included Ghimpeţeni and Ghimpeţenii Noi villages until 2004, when they were split off to form Ghimpeţeni Commune....
, Olt County
Olt County
Olt is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia . The capital city is Slatina.- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 489,274 and the population density was 89/km²....
. Upon graduating with honours in 1900 from the Carol I High School in Craiova, he studied law 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...
, obtaining his doctorate with the thesis Essai sur une théorie des droits éventuels.
In 1905, Titulescu returned to Romania as a professor of law at the University of Iaşi, and in 1907 he moved to 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....
.
Political career
Following the Romanian elections of 1912, he became a parliamentarian with the Conservative-Democrat Party led by Take IonescuTake Ionescu
Take or Tache Ionescu was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his political career as a radical member of the National Liberal Party , he joined the Conservative Party in 1891, and became noted as a social...
, and five years later he became a member of the government 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...
as Minister of Finance.
In the summer of 1918, together with other prominent Romanians (Take Ionescu
Take Ionescu
Take or Tache Ionescu was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his political career as a radical member of the National Liberal Party , he joined the Conservative Party in 1891, and became noted as a social...
, 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,...
, Traian Vuia
Traian Vuia
Traian Vuia was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, builtand flew an early aircraft. His first flight traveled about 12 m at Montesson, France on March 18, 1906...
, Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist...
), Titulescu formed, 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...
, the National Romanian Committee, with the purpose of promoting in international public opinion the right of the Romanian people to national unity, the committee being officially recognised as the plenipotentiary de facto organ of the Romanian nation.
From 1927 to 1928, Titulescu was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. (See also Savel Rădulescu
Savel Radulescu
Savel Rădulescu was a Romanian diplomat. He started his career in 1921 and worked as secretary of Nicolae Titulescu at the League of Nations. For his diplomatic activity he was distinguished with the Order of Malta...
).
Beginning in 1921, Titulescu functioned as the permanent representative of Romania 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...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. He was chosen twice (in 1930 and 1931) to be the President
Leaders of the League of Nations
The leaders of the League of Nations consisted of a Secretary General and a President of the Assembly selected from member states.-Secretaries Generals: — Sir James Eric Drummond, 16th Earl of Perth — Joseph Avenol — Seán Lester -Presidents of the Assembly: - Léon Bourgeois 1920 — Paul Hymans ...
of that organization. In this capacity, he fought for the preservation of stable borders through the maintenance of peace, for good relations between both large and small neighbouring states, for the respect of the sovereignty and equality of all nations in the international community, for collective security, and the prevention of aggression.
In June 1936, Titulescu famously reacted to the buffoonery exhibited by the Italian journalists when Emperor
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
Haile Selassie I spoke to the League after Ethiopia had been invaded and occupied by Fascist Italy. He jumped to his feet and shouted: "To the door with the savages!" ("A la porte les sauvages!").
Exile and death
Later in 1936, KingKing 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 removed Titulescu from all official positions, asking him to leave the country. Settling first in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, he later moved to France. While in exile, Nicolae Titulescu continued through conferences and newspaper articles to propagate the idea of the preservation of peace, perceiving the danger of a war that was to come all too soon after. He returned to Romania in November, 1937, partly through the efforts 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'...
.
In 1937, Titulescu again left Romania and took refuge in France. At Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, he denounced the Romanian Fascist regime
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
. In 1941, Nicolae Titulescu died in Cannes following a long illness. In his will, he asked to be buried in Romania.
In 1989, after the fall of the communist Romanian government
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...
during the Romanian Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, Titulescu's request became possible. On 14 March 1992, his remains were reburied in the Sfânta Ecaterina cemetery in Şcheii Braşovului, next to St. Nicholas Church
St. Nicholas Church, Brasov
Saint Nicholas Church is a Romanian Orthodox church in Braşov, dominating the historic district of Şchei.The church was established in 1292. It was mentioned in a Papal bull issued in 1399 by Pope Boniface IX. Starting in 1495, the church was rebuilt in stone by the locals, with help from Vlad...
, Braşov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
after a difficult legal procedure organized by Jean-Paul Carteron, Attorney at Law in Paris (France).