Take Ionescu
Encyclopedia
Take or Tache Ionescu (ˈtake joˈnesku; born Dumitru Ghiţă Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – June 2, 1922) was a Romania
n 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
(PNL), he joined the Conservative Party
in 1891, and became noted as a social conservative
expressing support for several progressive
and nationalist
tenets. Ionescu is generally viewed as embodying the rise of middle-class politics inside the early 20th century Kingdom of Romania
(occasionally described as Takism), and, throughout the period, promoted a project of Balkan
alliances while calling for measures to incorporate the Austro-Hungarian
regions of Transylvania
, Banat
and Bukovina
. Representing his own faction inside the Conservative Party, he clashed with the group's leadership in 1907-1908, and consequently created and led his own Conservative-Democratic Party.
An Anglophile promoting an alliance with the Triple Entente
, he rallied politicians and intellectuals in support for the idea, and called for Romania to enter World War I
. When this was accomplished though the 1916-1918 campaign
, Ionescu joined the Ion I. C. Brătianu
government in Iaşi
as Minister without portfolio
. After his country was defeated by the Central Powers
and signed the Treaty of Bucharest
, he left for Paris
and London
, organizing a Romanian National Committee to campaign for Greater Romania
during the Peace Conference
. In 1919, his Conservative-Democrats formed an alliance with the People's League, and Ionescu became Foreign Affairs Minister in the second Alexandru Averescu
executive, before briefly holding the office of Premier
in 1921-1922. During the period, he successfully campaigned in favor of the Little Entente
.
He was the brother of renowned surgeon and political activist Thoma Ionescu, who was his collaborator on several political projects. Take Ionescu is also remembered for promoting Nicolae Titulescu
, who went on to have a successful career as a diplomat and politician, and for his friendships with the dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
and the Greek
politician Eleftherios Venizelos
.
into a family of lower middle class
origins, the eldest of four male children, he was the son of Ghiţă Ioan, an entrepreneur who was facing insolvency, and his wife Eufrosina (or Frosa). Eufrosina was the descendant of Aromanian
immigrants, and related to the Wallachia
n writer Ion Heliade Rădulescu
.
During Take's childhood, the family moved to Bucharest
and later to Giurgiu
, where Ghiţă Ioan began to accumulate a fortune after leasing a segment of the customs
in the city. This allowed him to send his sons to study abroad; after entering the Saint Sava High School
with a scholarship
and graduating with honors, Take Ionescu (as he became known in his student days) entered the University of Paris
and took a PhD
in Law, attending courses together with, among others, the future politicians Raymond Poincaré
, Constantin Dissescu, Constantin Arion, Grigore Andronescu, Alexandru Djuvara
, and Alexandru Marghiloman
. During his high school years, he began contributing to literary magazines and authoring works of verse and especially short stories influenced by the style of Gérard de Nerval
and including the time travel
story Spiritele anului 3000 ("The Spirits of the Year 3000").
While in Paris
, Ionescu fell in love with an Englishwoman
named Bessie Richards, whom he met a charity event, and to whom he dedicated his PhD thesis (La recherche de la paternité naturelle, "Research into Natural Parenthood"). After consulting international law on the matter of marriage, he decided it was best if he were to marry her in Britain
. They sealed their union in a common law marriage in Brighton
, and later through an Eastern Orthodox religious ceremony in London
(November 1881). The couple were to settle in Bucharest, but made frequent visits to Bessie's native country for the rest of her life.
Upon his return, he opened a highly successful law practice on Bucharest's Costa-Foru Street (later known as Atena Street), and frequently traveled to various areas of the country in order to plead in various cases. His oratorical talent won him the moniker Tăkiţă gură de aur, "Tăkiţă the golden mouthed", based on a pet form of his colloquial name and the title commonly associated with eloquence (see John Chrysostom
). He became President of the Bar association
in Ilfov County
(at a time when it included Bucharest), in which capacity he welcomed the first-ever Romanian woman lawyer, Sarmiza Bilcescu
(1891).
Originally a member of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), he was attracted to its Radical
wing (led by C. A. Rosetti
), wrote extensively for the Liberal newspaper Românul, and became a PNL representative in the Chamber of Deputies
following the 1884 election. One year later, while still in office, he left the PNL — this came at a time when opposition forces rallied against the policies of Premier Ion Brătianu
, whom Ionescu had originally supported. Initially running as an independent in the election of 1888, being elected in Craiova
, he switched to conservative
politics (generally associated with the landowner circles), and joined the Conservative Party
in 1891.
cabinet (1891–1895) and again under Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (April 1899-January 1900), as well as Minister of Finance
(January-July 1900; 1904–1907) in both Cantacuzino cabinets. In 1899, Ionescu took the side of Jewish
scientist Lazăr Şăineanu
, endorsing his naturalization
in front of opposition from the antisemitic faction among the National Liberals, and helped bring the matter for renewed discussion in the Senate
. He also helped the scholar earn credentials by overseeing his conversion from Judaism
to the Romanian Orthodox Church
, and serving as his godfather
. However, by the end of the same year, Ionescu had mysteriously changed in mind: he voted in favor of complicating naturalization procedures for Jews and, as Education Minister, stripped Şăineanu of his honorary teaching position within the University of Bucharest
. A supposed atheist
, he was criticized by the opposition for favoring an increased role for the Romanian Orthodox Church, and replied that it was a matter for his own conscience. During the period, he befriended the notorious and independent-minded dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
, who later supported his dissident politics.
From 1898, he began issuing the French-language
newspaper La Roumanie, through which he publicized his own program, commonly referred to as Takism. At the time, contrary to the more cautious policies of his party, he began voicing full support for incorporating Transylvania
, a region largely inhabited by Romanians
and ruled by Austria-Hungary
, into the Kingdom of Romania
; he even made a symbolic conquest by financing the building of a road in the vicinity of Buşteni
, on the Transleithanian side of the border. Initially, he welcomed the idea of Romania itself entering the Habsburg Monarchy
in a federalist
project (see United States of Greater Austria
), as a means to solve the nationality issue, but eventually came to oppose it; in a conversation with the PNL's Constantin Stere
, who continued to support the idea, Ionescu declared: "instead of a foreign minister in Vienna
, if Romania should join the Habsburgs, I would rather become a waiter in Chicago
!".
He contemplated a future Balkan federation, and in a 1903 interview, argued that, although such a solution was "impossible for the moment", it "could perhaps be accomplished some day". Additionally, Ionescu supported the Vlach
cause in the Ottoman
-ruled regions of the Balkans, and supported the recognition of a "Kutzovlach ethnicity
". In this last instance, he caused a diplomatic incident when, during a 1905 official trip to Istanbul
, he attempted to present Sultan
Abdul Hamid II
with such a project and was denied an audience — consequently refusing to be presented with an Ottoman decoration, he was ultimately received and his report was reviewed by the Porte.
— the latter represented the party's Junimea
faction, which had just re-entered the main Conservative Party after an independent existence under the name of Constitutional Party; Ionescu also repeatedly clashed with the other Constitutional leader, the influential literary critic Titu Maiorescu
. Constantin Xeni, his future collaborator, argued that "the boyar
wing of [the Conservative Party] had made life impossible for this son of an obscure bourgeois from Ploieşti".
Despite such differences in opinion, Ionescu initially stood by the Conservative establishment during the Peasants' Revolt of 1907
. He held up estate leaseholders
as a productive social class
(arguing that, unlike peasants, "[they] do not consume their own income"), and approved of repressive measures to the point where he initiated the decision taken by his cabinet to resign, to be replaced by that of the PNL's Dimitrie Sturdza
. This was also prompted by his fears that Carp and Cantacuzino were going to use his ministry's problems as a means to undermine his political support. During the events, he questioned traditional Conservative stances, stressing that there existed a large gap between the ruling class and the mass of the people.
Identifying him as the person behind his return to power, Sturdza publicly thanked Ionescu during his investiture ceremony, to the enthusiasm of the Chamber. With 33 other politicians from both political camps (among them Carp, Constantin Stere
, Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu, Ion G. Duca
, Alexandru Djuvara
, Constantin Alimănişteanu, Ion and Alexandru G. Radovici, Dinu
and Vintilă Brătianu
), he was a member of a short-lived Parliamentary Committee charged with finding a solution to the agrarian issue; created in June, it was dissolved by the cabinet later in the same month. Soon after this, Sturdza and Ionescu engaged in a publicized argument, with Sturdza accusing him of having provoked the revolt through excessive taxation; reacting to this allegation, Ionescu rested the blame with antisemites inciting public sentiment against Jewish
leaseholders, and with a wider network of agitators. In addition, he virulently opposed PNL legislation that imposed a minimum wage
for work on estates, a maximum income for leaseholders, and set aside grazing land for communal ownership. He argued that such demands went against regulations on the free market
and property. When a compromise was eventually reached regarding land prices and the land which was available for leasing to anyone other than communes, he defended it in front of opposition from within his own party, while pointing out ways in which professional leaseholders could avoid the letter of the law. Additionally, one of Ionescu's proposals, regarding the establishment of an agricultural bank (Casa Rurală) won support from both parties.
Upon the separation, Ionescu stated: "I have the deep conviction that Romania needs a conservative party, democratic
in its makeup, progressive
in its tendencies, but firmly representing the ideas of social conservation
. This party must be strong, in order to form a counterbalance to the Left
, which, fatally and as indicated by the times, will move more and more to the Left". He stressed his principles in opposing Socialism
, indicating that he mistrusted its ability to reconcile with "maintaining freedom". Additionally, Ionescu made mention of reforming the census suffrage enshrined in the 1866 Constitution
, and expressed support for a single electoral college
to replace the three wealth-based ones in existence at the time.
The PCD was soon joined by Ion Luca Caragiale
, who characterized Take Ionescu as "An indefatigable and wise patriot
", by the future diplomat Nicolae Titulescu
, by the doctor Constantin Istrati
, the writer Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, the journalist Nicolae Xenopol, the former mayor of Iaşi
Gheorghe Lascăr, the landowners Constantin Cantacuzino Paşcanu and Alexandru Bădărău, as well as by Xeni, who left a eulogistic account of his mentor. It became the target of attacks from both the PNL and the Conservatives, and was faced with the reticence of King
Carol I
. Nevertheless, Xeni contended, the new grouping profited from Ionescu's popularity with the lower strata of Romanian society, being identified as "one of their own". In this version of events, mainstream politicians allegedly convinced Carol that the PCD had an agenda to depose the ruling House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and had depicted Ionescu as "a «Belzebuth
» who was supposed to be removed from public life".
The PNL notably accused the Conservative-Democrats of having been instigated and financed by Mochi Fischer, one of the main leaseholders, whose land in Flămânzi
had been the original center of agitation during the 1907 events. Among the points of contention between the PCD and the PNL were the 1908 expulsion of the socialist activist and România Muncitoare
leader Christian Rakovsky
(based on an order which the PCD considered illegal) and the unsuccessful 1909 reform advanced by Minister of Education Spiru Haret
(which, among other things, prevented academics who taught Law from practicing, and created new university chairs, raising suspicions that these had been purposely designed to accommodate PNL members).
At the time, he became notorious as an Anglophile, and according to Xeni, adopted British
manners in his private life, while being one of the few speakers of impeccable English in his country. As a model for his own party, Take Ionescu cited the British precedent set by Lord Randolph Churchill
and his Tory Democracy.
, Vintilă Brătianu
, had contracted some of his fellow Liberals to complete the work in question). The matter escalated when Carp faced Parliament with a proposal for legislative changes, and publicly questioned Ion I. C. Brătianu's morality. The conflict prolonged itself over the following months, and ended with the fall of the Carp government and its replacement with a transitional one, headed by Maiorescu.
Eventually, in October 1912, Ionescu aided in the creation of a new executive comprising several Conservative tendencies and also led by Maiorescu, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs until December 1913. Before Romania intervened in the Second Balkan War
and annexed Southern Dobruja
, Ionescu attempted to persuade Bulgarian
politician Stoyan Danev
to accept ceding the region as compensation for incorporating Aromanian
-inhabited territories. Later, he reviewed tentative proposals for Romania to occupy Bulgaria itself, and rejected them outright. Ionescu continued to advise caution in respect to his country's policies in the Balkans
, and argued that Romania should not offend any of the three other kingdoms in the region (Bulgaria, Greece
, and Serbia
). Xeni argued that, In Ionescu's view, the Balkan Wars
announced a conflict on a much larger scale.
His attitude on Balkan issues brought him the friendship of Greek Premier Eleftherios Venizelos
. In November 1913, Ionescu left for Athens
with King Carol's approval, mediating between the Ottoman envoy Mehmed Talat Pasha
, a member of the Young Turks
, and the Greek executive. He was received in triumph, and managed to seal a deal between the two states, receiving in return public thanks from both governments, as well as the honorary citizenship of Athens
. Since the treaty was disadvantageous to defeated Bulgaria, Ionescu was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt (reportedly foiled by an ethnic Aromanian).
By early 1914, Ionescu became involved in a prolonged discussion with Luigi Luzzatti
, former Prime Minister
of Italy
, who asked Romania to review its policies and allow Jewish Emancipation
(see History of the Jews in Romania
). He ultimately promised Luzzatti that all Jewish veterans of the Second Balkan War were going to be awarded Romanian citizenship, but the policy was overturned by the PNL's Ion I. C. Brătianu
executive, coming to power in January 1914.
and receiving news of World War I
having erupted, Ionescu made a series of highly-accurate predictions — he theorized that Italy, the United States
, Japan
and Romania itself were to be dragged into the conflict, that the Central Powers were to be initially victorious, and that, after a series of setbacks, "we shall get to see Greater Romania
with our own eyes". Reportedly, he also foretold a worldwide rise in support for left-wing causes.
Ionescu initially supported Romania's neutrality. Nevertheless, unlike the main Conservative group, his PCD soon began intense advocacy of joining the war effort against the Central Powers
, calling for Romania to incorporate the Austro-Hungarian
-ruled regions of Transylvania
, Banat
, and Bukovina
(Ionescu argued that Romania could not exist unless "we are straddling the Carpathians
"). Defining the Austrian monarchy as "a sad nothingness", Ionescu expressed his opinion that the German Empire
, Austria-Hungary's main ally, was gripped by the influence of Prussia
n "corporal
ism". Xeni recounted that Ionescu had displayed a degree of sympathy with King Carol's position, contending that the monarch was not entirely opposed to joining the Entente in its war effort.
According to one of the PCD's main opponents, the writer and journalist Tudor Arghezi
, Ionescu changed his priorities on the very day King Carol convoked a Crown Council
which confirmed neutrality policies (August 3, 1914). In this version of events, the Conservative Democrat commented upon the necessity of supporting the Entente Powers
just as he was leaving Peleş Castle
; Arghezi commented with irony that: "before reaching the street, Mr. Take Ionescu had reviewed his ideas several times. [...] It would seem that Mr. Take Ionescu's ideas are stillborn
, just like premature babies, born before their time and dead before having an age". He also expressed a view that the new policy was "demagogy
", intended to bring the PCD into government ("Let all perish, as long as Mr. Take Ionescu succeeds!"), and contrasted Ionescu's claim to represent popular interest with his refusal to accept land reform
and universal suffrage
.
Similar views were expressed by the notorious socialist
and Zimmerwald pacifist
Christian Rakovsky
, leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party
. Writing to his main collaborator Leon Trotsky
in May 1915, he accused Ionescu of "making a political principle out of venality", and of being "a man of vulgar ambitions and unmeasurable vanity, a politician of no faith, no convictions, who considers political programs to be each a cause to plead". Contending that Take Ionescu aimed to be "on all occasions, on the winning side, courting people in power", Rakovsky believed that his support for the Entente was conjectural: "Until yesterday, [he] was the man who continuously tied friendships with the Germans [...]. Anticipating victory for the Allies
, [he] has now become their man, and, finding it difficult to return to his old sympathies, he threatens that, in case Russia
were to fail, he would expatriate himself to America
, the Romanian people having lost, in the eyes of such a «patriot
», all interest once he would no longer have the hope of returning to power". On the other side of the political spectrum, Ionescu remained at odds with the Conservative leader Petre P. Carp
; in 1915, referring to his policies, Carp remarked: "Talent does not justify all avatars, just as beauty does not justify all forms of prostitution".
Seeking a settlement with Hungary
over the territorial issue, Ionescu traveled to Budapest
on one occasion, meeting with Miklós Bánffy
: vehemently stating his goal of incorporating the regions into the Kingdom of Romania
, he was answered that Austria-Hungary intended to extend its influence to the Black Sea
(Ionescu recounted: "we agreed that we could never agree"). Ionescu kept close contacts with Entente politicians, and notably with the prominent French
Radical-Socialist Georges Clemenceau
, who described him as "a great European, albeit Romanian down to his marrow, having for his country the highest and most legitimate of ambitions". At the time, he deplored Eleftherios Venizelos
' deposition from the office of Prime Minister (October 1915).
's ascension to the throne, his pro-Entente activism intensified. He was at the forefront of a major grouping of various public figures who, despite differences in politics, supported an alliance with France and Britain
, including Nicolae Filipescu, Constantin Istrati
, Octavian Goga
, Vasile Lucaciu
, Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, Nicolae Iorga
, Simion Mândrescu, Ioan Cantacuzino
, Nicolae Xenopol, N. D. Cocea
, Constantin Mille
, as well as Take Ionescu's brother Thoma. Their adversary Christian Rakovsky
accused Mille, a former socialist, of using his two dailies, Adevărul
and Dimineaţa, as venues for Takist propaganda, and claimed that this was accomplished "under the mask of independence" (additionally, he stated: "[Ionescu] thus compensated for the weakness of his party, both in men and ideas, through corrupting the press").
In late 1915, Ionescu and most like-minded activists formed a body known as Acţiunea Naţională ("National Action") or Federaţia unionistă ("Unionist Federation"). It found relative support from the new monarch, but his policies were rejected by the PNL cabinet of Ion I. C. Brătianu
— although the latter force supported the Entente, it decided not to enter the war until the Entente powers were to recognize Romanian rule in Transylvania, Bukovina, and the Banat, as well as provide the country with military assistance. In contrast, Ionescu's attitude, as paraphrased by Stephen Bonsal
, was: "Our rôle is that of an unconditional ally of the democracies. We must not drive a bargain. We should and can rely on the appreciation of our allies when the victory is won".
According to the PNL's Ion G. Duca
, Brătianu, who was the main target of Acţiunea Naţionalăs criticism, "wrapped himself in an atmosphere of silence and played the sphinx
". With Thoma Ionescu, Rector
of the University of Bucharest
, campaigning among academics, and with Take Ionescu maintaining contacts with the PNL minister Alexandru Constantinescu-Porcu, the Entente supporters were becoming increasingly influential by 1915. In late 1914, they successfully replaced the leadership of the Cultural League with a panel of Acţiunea Naţională members.
Eventually, after the Bucharest agreement
was sealed, recognizing Romanian demands in front of the Entente, Brătianu approved of entering the conflict and agreed to declare war on the Central powers. On August 7, 1916, the matter was communicated to political leaders in a Crown Council
held at Cotroceni Palace
in Bucharest; Ionescu, who was visiting Sinaia
together with the American
military attaché
Halsey E. Yates, rushed back to the capital after being invited by Constantinescu-Porcu. Being advised to maintain secrecy over the proceedings, he hid the reasons for his return by starting a rumor that the outbreak of typhoid fever
in Sinaia had gotten out of control.
Other politicians attending the Council included several government ministers (Brătianu, Duca, Constantinescu-Porcu, Vasile Morţun, Emil Costinescu, Alexandru G. Radovici, Emanoil Porumbaru, Victor Antonescu
, Constantin Anghelescu
), Parliamentary
leaders (Mihail Pherekyde
, Constantin Robescu), former premiers (Titu Maiorescu
, Theodor Rosetti
, and Petre P. Carp
), other party leaders (Nicolae Filipescu and Alexandru Marghiloman
) and former Chamber presidents (Constantin Olănescu and Constantin Cantacuzino Paşcanu). Conservatives present voiced their disapproval, with Maiorescu as the most vocal opponent: Maiorescu and Brătianu notably engaged in a separate debate about whether Transylvanians had called on Romania to intervene — the former argued that no such call had been voiced, while Brătianu contended that he had support from over the border (Ionescu seconded this claim).
As most of the political leaders present at te meeting approved of the change in policy, Carp gave a short speech in which he refused to back Ferdinand's decision and wished "for Your Majesty's armies to be defeated", although commenting that he would "give Your Majesty my four sons, because Romanians are brave in the military". In a private conversation with Premier Brătianu, Take Ionescu contended that "[Carp] is Shakespearean
in his error. He does not surprise me, given that I never took him seriously to begin with. You have taken him seriously, and this is your own fault".
). Ionescu followed Romanian authorities into refuge to the provisional capital of Iaşi
, being hosted by C. Konya, a well-known pharmacist whose house was near the local university. Ionescu's house on Bucharest's Atena Street was ransacked and partly vandalized by German troops — Constantin Argetoianu
recounted that this was accomplished "methodically", and constituted "an exception" to the German administration's "scrupulous respect for private property". According to Take Ionescu himself, his lodging had been destroyed on special orders from August von Mackensen
in December 1916 (he also contrasted this action with his promise to protect the property of former German ambassador, Hilmar von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen, after he had left Bucharest earlier in the same year).
He was brought to office as a Vice-Premier and Minister Secretary of State (Minister without portfolio
), in a War Cabinet
headed by the PNL's leader Brătianu, serving between July 1917 and January 1918. According to Xeni, Ionescu's advocacy of an Entente alliance had made him the target of intense criticism, at a time when the territory still controlled by Romanian authorities was suffering major hardships, and replied that "war had to be made". At the same time, he and the premier agreed on the principles of electoral
and land reform
to be carried out in a future Romania, as the Conservatives appeared destined to lose appeal.
Romania ultimately signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers
in 1918 — soon after, Ionescu received approval to leave for Paris and London. While passing through Ploieşti
, his native city, he was reportedly booed
by a crowd of opponents. After the Armistice with Germany
, which signaled a change in fortunes, he began actively campaigning for the international recognition of Romania's union with Transylvania
as advanced by the Romanian National Party
, creating the National Romanian Council, grouping politicians from several regions, many of whom had opposed the separate peace (these included the Transylvanians Octavian Goga
and Vasile Lucaciu
), and supporting an anti-Hungarian alliance of Balkan states that played a part in creating the Little Entente
.
In December, Ionescu met with Venizelos and the Czechoslovak
leader Tomáš Masaryk
to discuss a common approach; expressing support for Eastern Europe
an alliances while commenting on the unresolved dispute involving Romania and the Kingdom of Serbia
, Masaryk confided in Stephen Bonsal
that: "Solutions are still beyond our immediate reach, but I am confident that we have cleared ground for the co-operation at the Peace Conference
".
Despite his intense activism, he was denied a presence in the Romanian delegation to the Conference, owing to his renewed conflict with Prime Minister Brătianu. This followed a major disagreement in policy, after the National Liberals decided not to accept all Allied resolution on principle, and instead to renegotiate Romania's position on the international stage. In December 1919, answering to concerns that he was leading a risky path, Brătianu spoke out in Parliament against what he saw as demeaning "the role [the Romanian people] should have in the world".
Following Bessie Ionescu's death in a horse-riding accident, Ionescu married Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki in 1919 (she was also known as Adina Olmazu). Also in that year, he published a volume of French-language
essays and memoirs; going through an English edition, it was first published in Romania in 1923.
persuasion, stressing Conservative accomplishments (such as selling state land to peasants and confiscating mainmorte estates), while aiming to persuade the PNL to back electoral reform. During his stay in Paris, while the main Conservative Party disintegrated, the PCD had itself suffered a major crisis; according to Ionescu's rival and one-time political partner Constantin Argetoianu
, Ionescu's temporary residence on Calea Victoriei
subsequently became a meeting place for various Conservative politicians (whom Argetoianu repeatedly described as "Conservative wrecks").
Eventually, in 1919, Ionescu's group formed an alliance with the newly-created People's League, headed by General Alexandru Averescu
. Averescu, who was celebrated for his wartime command of the Romanian Army, shared several viewpoints with the PCD and, according to Argetoianu's ironic version of events, "a great, albeit undisclosed, spiritual affinity: they both belonged to the reptilian class". The alliance went through two stages: early in the year, the PCD signed an electoral pact with Averescu's grouping — the People League's Argetoianu, who led the talks, later indicated that he had sabotaged all possibility of an actual merger, believing it to be detrimental to his grouping; in autumn, the newly-returned Ionescu met with the general to discuss a project for increased cooperation. At the time, Argetoianu indicated, Ionescu viewed himself as a favorite of the Allied
governments, and, while maintaining close relations with Averescu, refused to discuss a fusion. Reportedly, Averescu unsuccessfully offered Ionescu the League's presidency in exchange for being recognized as the main candidate for the premiership. The PCD leader changed his attitude as it became apparent that Averescu, who was appointed Prime Minister by Ferdinand, was set to win the elections, and, according to Constantin Argetoianu, had to allow Averescu the upper hand in the deal.
The PCD came to power following the landslide victory in the 1921 election (when the PCD won 17 seats in addition to the People Party's 206). Take Ionescu was again brought to a cabinet position between 1920 and 1921, replacing Duiliu Zamfirescu
as Foreign Minister in the Averescu cabinet. Argetoianu indicated that the PCD had not been part of the original cabinet makeup due to Averescu's maneuvers: reportedly, the general presented his group as the main candidate in the elections, and allowed the Conservative-Democrats to have a share in government only after he was validated by the popular vote. Expanding on this issue, Argetoianu stated: "Take Ionescu hoped to achieve popularity through his activity in Paris and thus impose himself either at the top, in spheres of the [Royal] Palace, or at the bottom, in the popular masses. Unfortunately for him, he found no vacant spot either up or down. At the top, Brătianu remained adamantly, as always, the person of trust, and at the bottom Averescu's popularity, with its fetishistic
character, allowed no one to present even the most limited of challenges. Take Ionescu, for all his merits and for all his intelligence, was doomed to continue his career as a trailer and hung on to Averescu, as his collaborator".
(see Polish-Romanian Alliance
). According to journalist Noti Constantinide, who visited him during his stay in Aix-les-Bains
(March 1921), Ionescu, whom he called "the most intelligent person I ever met", was actively promoting the Romanian and Little Entente causes, seeking to sway public opinion in Allied countries. Through Constantinide, Ionescu was informed that Charles, former Emperor of Austria
and King of Hungary, had decided in favor of secretly returning to Budapest
and taking back one of his thrones; the information, according to Constantinide, was passed to him by an Austria
n officer in Hungary
's service, who had decided to betray his superiors. The information proved accurate, but Ionescu reportedly dismissed similar news, received some time after, of Charles' planning a second such attempt — this was to be effected in October, and, although more successful than the March episode, it too ended in Charles' expulsion (see Charles IV of Hungary's conflict with Miklós Horthy).
He began looking for an agreement with Bolshevist Russia
over the issue of Bessarabia
and the Romanian Treasure
, but bilateral relations remained tense. Inside the cabinet, Ionescu successfully promoted Nicolae Titulescu
(for the Finance
portfolio) and Dimitrie Greceanu (for Public Works), but had to accept the former's resignation in late 1920, after Titulescu cited irreconcilable differences in political ideology (declaring himself to be much more left-wing than his party's chief) and reproached Ionescu the fact that he had intervened in financial affairs.
The Averescu executive, maneuvered by Brătianu and meeting with stiff opposition from the Romanian National
, Peasants'
and Democratic Nationalist parties, was ultimately brought down by Take Ionescu himself, through his resignation from office on December 11, 1921. This came as the project for land reform
provoked a standoff in Parliament, after the PNL persuaded King Ferdinand that Averescu had to resign, and Ionescu agreed to induce an artificial crisis for the general to hand over his mandate.
Ionescu was ultimately Prime Minister for one month, from December 18, 1921, until January 19, 1922. In this capacity, he oversaw the marriage agreement between King Alexander I
of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
and Princess Marioara
. He resigned after a motion of no confidence
, which Ferdinand hoped to see bringing Averescu back to power, but was instead faced with a new PNL majority, formed after the 1922 elections.
While visiting Italy
in summer 1922, Take Ionescu contracted typhoid fever
, and died at a sanitarium on Rome
's Via Toscana (according to sources, he had contracted the disease while in Naples
, having eaten an infected oyster, and fell ill while crossing into Sicily
). The final diagnosis was "typhic ulcerous aortitis
and internal abdominal angina
". The unusual circumstances of his illness provoked scientific interest, and, during the early 1920s, it was discussed in medical circles as the "Take Ionescu disease".
Returning from the League of Nations
in Geneva
, Brătianu paid a visit to the moribund Ionescu, and reportedly acknowledged the merits of his Balkan projects ("You were right, Mr. Ionescu. Having witnessed the chaos in Geneva, I had [instead] the opportunity of seeing of just how much help the creation and solidarity of the Little Entente has been to us").
The train transporting his remains was saluted by Serb officials when passing through their country, and received in Bucharest with the sirens of several locomotives blowing in unison (as a sign of respect). The casket, wrapped in the Romanian tricolor
, was displayed in the Romanian Athenaeum
building for several days. A public procession, led by King Ferdinand, accompanied the casket, placed on a caisson
, down to Bucharest's Gara de Nord
, whence it was transported for burial in Sinaia
(June 30, 1922).
Ionescu was buried in the inner courtyard of Sinaia Monastery
, inside a marble crypt having quotes from his speeches carved into its walls, and in the vicinity of a fir tree planted in 1848 by a group of Wallachian revolutionaries (one of whom was Ionescu's ancestor Ion Heliade Rădulescu
). The grave site had been previously donated by the Romanian state to Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki.
in Romanian literature
. Written as a first-person narrative
and dream sequence, it depicts its author and main character falling into slumber and awaking on the close of the 30th century. The world he encounters is peopled by humans of a small stature, who reach full maturity at the age of 15. Spiritele anului 3000 is part political satire
and part political project. Humanity is unified into a single confederation of republics and administrated from Liberty (a completely new capital built up on an artificial island
in the Mediterranean Sea
), while monarchies and wars have disappeared altogether. Romania is set "in her natural borders" through the intervention of a Supreme Tribunal, while the Romanian language
adopts a form to Ionescu's liking (having shunned the more artificial etymology favored by Transylvania
n intellectuals and the Romanian Academy
alike). The Romanian climate
is improved by afforestation
, the country is spanned by canal
s, and the garden-like Bucharest, over which the narrator and Aru, his friend from the future, fly in a moored balloon
, no longer has any churches left standing.
The Conservative-Democratic Party did not survive the death of its leader, and disbanded over the same year. According to his one-time political ally Octavian Goga
, Ionescu "concentrated within him the character of improvised Muntenia
n bourgeoisie
". Praising him for his qualities while also contending that his discourse "bordered on demagogy
", Goga stated "I do not believe, though, that he could have ever gone as far in a Western country or in a balanced country such as England
". He described their relationship thus: "He did all sorts of favors for me, he won me money loans, he promised me a ministry from the very beginning, he declared me «a genius» in his article for La Roumanie, — I nonetheless remained, in front of him, as I would remain in front of a woman who in vain tries to earn my love, as she does not project an image of moral responsibility".
Writing on the nomenclature used in the works of Ion Luca Caragiale
, the literary critic Garabet Ibrăileanu
noted the use and special meaning of pet forms. Commenting, among others, on the banality of the names "Take"/"Tache" and "Ionescu", he contended that Ionescu had transported the moniker into general acceptance, out of the reach of its familiar connotations: "«Take Ionescu» is utterly banal [...], but this name, due to the person who bore it, has gained through association a special prestige. This is why, if we were to see it today being used by a common Ionescu, the occurrence would seem comical to us". Expanding on this issue, he noted that both the derisive tone in Caragiale's works and Ionescu's career reflected, each in its own way, the growth in importance of a single social class
, the "national bourgeoisie".
Take Ionescu's enduring admiration and support for countries in the Anglosphere
and for the British Empire
was reflected in contemporary popular culture. As Xeni indicated, Ionescu was depicted in satirical works either as an English "sportsman" or "an immense cylinder wrapped up in the stars of the American flag
"). Ionescu's popularity before and during World War I
also made him the center of a cultural trend, and the subject of imitation. According to Tudor Arghezi
, he was personally responsible for raising the prestige of Ştefan Luchian
, an impoverished painter, being among the first ever to purchase more than one of the latter's paintings.
The friendship between Ionescu and Eleftherios Venizelos
left behind its own artistic legacy: in late 1913 or early 1915, the Ionescu residence in Bucharest was decorated with a stone bas-relief of the goddess Athena
, which was inlaid into the masonry. Additionally, after Take Ionescu's death, Venizelos donated a bloc of Parian marble
to be used for the politician's bust (ultimately placed inside the Chamber quarters on Mitropoliei Hill), and another marble bloc to be used for his grave in Sinaia Monastery
.
Immediately after Ionescu's 1913 mission to Greece, the street he lived on was renamed Atena (Romanian
for "Athens
"). A section of the present-day Magheru Boulevard
in Bucharest was initially named in Ionescu's honor. Undergoing a name change during the Communist period
, a section of the former Atena Street was assigned the name Take Ionescu in the wake of the 1989 Revolution
. Atena Street housed a large statue of Take Ionescu, the work of French sculptor Ernest Dubois, depicting him standing alongside two female nudes, representing the ideal borders of Greater Romania
(the Dniester
and the Tisza
), and pointing toward Transylvania
. The monument was notably criticized by architectural historian Grigore Ionescu, who argued that it was "an inferior replica of Ion Brătianu
's monument".
Under the Communist regime, Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki was allowed to continue residing in the house Ionescu had built for her in the proximity of Şoseaua Kiseleff
, but had to share her lodging with a section of the Republican Art Museum
, and was assigned a room on the underground floor.
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 centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his political career as a radical
Liberalism and radicalism in Romania
This article gives an overview of Liberalism and Radicalism in Romania. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in this scheme...
member of 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 joined the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (Romania, 1880-1918)
The Conservative Party was between 1880 and 1918 one of Romania's two most important parties, the other one being the Liberal Party...
in 1891, and became noted as a social conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
expressing support for several progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
and 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...
tenets. Ionescu is generally viewed as embodying the rise of middle-class politics inside the early 20th century Kingdom of Romania
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...
(occasionally described as Takism), and, throughout the period, promoted a project of Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
alliances while calling for measures to incorporate the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
regions of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
and 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...
. Representing his own faction inside the Conservative Party, he clashed with the group's leadership in 1907-1908, and consequently created and led his own Conservative-Democratic Party.
An Anglophile promoting an alliance with the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
, he rallied politicians and intellectuals in support for the idea, and called for Romania to enter World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. When this was accomplished though the 1916-1918 campaign
Romanian Campaign (World War I)
The Romanian Campaign was part of the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers. Fighting took place from August 1916 to December 1917, across most of present-day Romania, including Transylvania, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian...
, Ionescu joined the 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...
government in Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
as Minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
. After his country was defeated by the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
and signed the Treaty of Bucharest
Treaty of Bucharest, 1918
The Treaty of Bucharest was a peace treaty which the German Empire forced Romania to sign on 7 May 1918 following the Romanian campaign of 1916-1917.-Main terms of the treaty:...
, he left for 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...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, organizing a Romanian National Committee to campaign for 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...
during the Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
. In 1919, his Conservative-Democrats formed an alliance with the People's League, and Ionescu became Foreign Affairs Minister in the second Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu was a Romanian marshal and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets . He first rose to prominence during the peasant's revolt of 1907, which he helped repress in violence...
executive, before briefly holding the office of Premier
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...
in 1921-1922. During the period, he successfully campaigned in favor 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...
.
He was the brother of renowned surgeon and political activist Thoma Ionescu, who was his collaborator on several political projects. Take Ionescu is also remembered for promoting 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:...
, who went on to have a successful career as a diplomat and politician, and for his friendships with the dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
and the Greek
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
politician Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
.
Early life and politics
Born in PloieştiPloiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
into a family of lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
origins, the eldest of four male children, he was the son of Ghiţă Ioan, an entrepreneur who was facing insolvency, and his wife Eufrosina (or Frosa). Eufrosina was the descendant of Aromanian
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
immigrants, and related to the Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
n writer Ion Heliade Rădulescu
Ion Heliade Radulescu
Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade was a Wallachian-born Romanian academic, Romantic and Classicist poet, essayist, memoirist, short story writer, newspaper editor and politician...
.
During Take's childhood, the family 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....
and later to Giurgiu
Giurgiu
Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda...
, where Ghiţă Ioan began to accumulate a fortune after leasing a segment of the customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
in the city. This allowed him to send his sons to study abroad; after entering the Saint Sava High School
Saint Sava National College
The Saint Sava National College is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Bucharest, Romania....
with a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
and graduating with honors, Take Ionescu (as he became known in his student days) entered 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...
and took a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Law, attending courses together with, among others, the future politicians Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
, Constantin Dissescu, Constantin Arion, Grigore Andronescu, Alexandru Djuvara
Alexandru Djuvara
-Early years:Djuvara was born in Bucharest on December 20, 1858. He was the uncle of prominent Romanian historian Neagu Djuvara.After graduation from Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, he went on to study Law in the School of History and Political Science...
, and Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman was a Romanian conservative statesman who served for a short time in 1918 as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I.-Early career:...
. During his high school years, he began contributing to literary magazines and authoring works of verse and especially short stories influenced by the style of Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
and including the time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
story Spiritele anului 3000 ("The Spirits of the Year 3000").
While 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...
, Ionescu fell in love with an Englishwoman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
named Bessie Richards, whom he met a charity event, and to whom he dedicated his PhD thesis (La recherche de la paternité naturelle, "Research into Natural Parenthood"). After consulting international law on the matter of marriage, he decided it was best if he were to marry her in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. They sealed their union in a common law marriage in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, and later through an Eastern Orthodox religious ceremony in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(November 1881). The couple were to settle in Bucharest, but made frequent visits to Bessie's native country for the rest of her life.
Upon his return, he opened a highly successful law practice on Bucharest's Costa-Foru Street (later known as Atena Street), and frequently traveled to various areas of the country in order to plead in various cases. His oratorical talent won him the moniker Tăkiţă gură de aur, "Tăkiţă the golden mouthed", based on a pet form of his colloquial name and the title commonly associated with eloquence (see John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
). He became President of the Bar association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in Ilfov County
Ilfov County
Ilfov is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest...
(at a time when it included Bucharest), in which capacity he welcomed the first-ever Romanian woman lawyer, Sarmiza Bilcescu
Sarmiza Bilcescu
Sarmiza or Sarmisa Bilcescu was a Romanian lawyer, the first European woman ever to obtain a license and a PhD in Law from the University of Paris, and the first one in her country to practice law...
(1891).
Originally a member of 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 attracted to its Radical
Liberalism and radicalism in Romania
This article gives an overview of Liberalism and Radicalism in Romania. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in this scheme...
wing (led by C. A. Rosetti
C. A. Rosetti
Constantin Alexandru Rosetti was a Romanian literary and political leader, born in Bucharest into a Phanariot Greek family.In 1845, Rosetti went to Paris, where he met Alphonse de Lamartine, the patron of the Society of Romanian Students in Paris. In 1847, he married Mary Grant, the sister of the...
), wrote extensively for the Liberal newspaper Românul, and became a PNL representative in 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...
following the 1884 election. One year later, while still in office, he left the PNL — this came at a time when opposition forces rallied against the policies of Premier Ion Brătianu
Ion Bratianu
Ion C. Brătianu was one of the major political figures of 19th century Romania. He was the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu...
, whom Ionescu had originally supported. Initially running as an independent in the election of 1888, being elected 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 switched to conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politics (generally associated with the landowner circles), and joined the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (Romania, 1880-1918)
The Conservative Party was between 1880 and 1918 one of Romania's two most important parties, the other one being the Liberal Party...
in 1891.
First ministerial positions and birth of Takism
A leading figure of the Conservatives for the following years, he held several ministerial positions after 1891: he was Minister of Religious Affairs and Education in the Lascăr CatargiuLascar Catargiu
Lascăr Catargiu was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab, and had settled in Moldavia.-Biography:...
cabinet (1891–1895) and again under Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (April 1899-January 1900), as well as Minister of Finance
Ministry of Public Finance (Romania)
The Ministry of Public Finance of Romania is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania.The minister's seat is currently held by the Democratic Liberal Party's Gheorghe Ialomiţeanu.The following agencies are subordinated to the Minister:...
(January-July 1900; 1904–1907) in both Cantacuzino cabinets. In 1899, Ionescu took the side of Jewish
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
scientist Lazăr Şăineanu
Lazăr Şăineanu
Lazăr Şăineanu was a Romanian-born philologist, linguist, folklorist and cultural historian. A specialist in Oriental and Romance studies, as well as a Hebraist and a Germanist, he was primarily known for his contribution to Yiddish and Romanian philology, his work in evolutionary linguistics, and...
, endorsing his naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
in front of opposition from the antisemitic faction among the National Liberals, and helped bring the matter for renewed discussion in the Senate
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
. He also helped the scholar earn credentials by overseeing his conversion from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
to the Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
, and serving as his godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
. However, by the end of the same year, Ionescu had mysteriously changed in mind: he voted in favor of complicating naturalization procedures for Jews and, as Education Minister, stripped Şăineanu of his honorary teaching position within the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
. A supposed atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, he was criticized by the opposition for favoring an increased role for the Romanian Orthodox Church, and replied that it was a matter for his own conscience. During the period, he befriended the notorious and independent-minded dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
, who later supported his dissident politics.
From 1898, he began issuing the French-language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
newspaper La Roumanie, through which he publicized his own program, commonly referred to as Takism. At the time, contrary to the more cautious policies of his party, he began voicing full support for incorporating Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, a region largely inhabited by Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
and ruled by Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, into the Kingdom of Romania
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...
; he even made a symbolic conquest by financing the building of a road in the vicinity of Buşteni
Busteni
Buşteni is a small mountain town in the north of the county Prahova, in the center of Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi mountains, that have a maximum altitude of 2505 m. Its name literally means tree-logs in Romanian. One village, Poiana Ţapului, is...
, on the Transleithanian side of the border. Initially, he welcomed the idea of Romania itself entering the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
in a federalist
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
project (see United States of Greater Austria
United States of Greater Austria
The United States of Greater Austria was an idea created by a group of scholars surrounding the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand that never came to pass...
), as a means to solve the nationality issue, but eventually came to oppose it; in a conversation with the PNL's Constantin Stere
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea was a Romanian writer, jurist, politician, ideologue of the Poporanist trend, and, in March 1906, co-founder Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; , Konstantin Yegorovich Stere or Константин Георгиевич Стере, Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere;...
, who continued to support the idea, Ionescu declared: "instead of a foreign minister in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, if Romania should join the Habsburgs, I would rather become a waiter in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
!".
He contemplated a future Balkan federation, and in a 1903 interview, argued that, although such a solution was "impossible for the moment", it "could perhaps be accomplished some day". Additionally, Ionescu supported the Vlach
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
cause in the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-ruled regions of the Balkans, and supported the recognition of a "Kutzovlach ethnicity
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
". In this last instance, he caused a diplomatic incident when, during a 1905 official trip to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, he attempted to present Sultan
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
with such a project and was denied an audience — consequently refusing to be presented with an Ottoman decoration, he was ultimately received and his report was reviewed by the Porte.
1907 Peasants' Revolt
He sided with the Conservative Nicolae Filipescu, who shared his views on the issue of Transylvania, and provoked a conflict within his grouping at a time when the PNL was strengthening itself by incorporating a large part of the Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party. Around 1907, seeking party leadership, he came to oppose the other main Conservative leaders Cantacuzino and Petre P. CarpPetre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp , commonly rendered as P. P. Carp, was a Romanian conservative politician and literary critic who served as a Prime Minister of Romania for two terms...
— the latter represented the party's Junimea
Junimea
Junimea was a Romanian literary society founded in Iaşi in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi...
faction, which had just re-entered the main Conservative Party after an independent existence under the name of Constitutional Party; Ionescu also repeatedly clashed with the other Constitutional leader, the influential literary critic Titu Maiorescu
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century....
. Constantin Xeni, his future collaborator, argued that "the boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
wing of [the Conservative Party] had made life impossible for this son of an obscure bourgeois from Ploieşti".
Despite such differences in opinion, Ionescu initially stood by the Conservative establishment during the Peasants' Revolt of 1907
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt took place in March 1907 in Moldavia and it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia. The main cause was the discontent of the peasants about the inequity of land ownership, which was in the hands of just a few large landowners....
. He held up estate leaseholders
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
as a productive social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
(arguing that, unlike peasants, "[they] do not consume their own income"), and approved of repressive measures to the point where he initiated the decision taken by his cabinet to resign, to be replaced by that of the PNL's Dimitrie Sturdza
Dimitrie Sturdza
Dimitrie Sturdza was a Romanian statesman of the late 19th century, and president of the Romanian Academy between 1882 and 1884.-Biography:Born in Iaşi, Moldavia, and educated there at the Academia Mihăileană, he continued his studies in Germany, took part in the political movements of the time,...
. This was also prompted by his fears that Carp and Cantacuzino were going to use his ministry's problems as a means to undermine his political support. During the events, he questioned traditional Conservative stances, stressing that there existed a large gap between the ruling class and the mass of the people.
Identifying him as the person behind his return to power, Sturdza publicly thanked Ionescu during his investiture ceremony, to the enthusiasm of the Chamber. With 33 other politicians from both political camps (among them Carp, Constantin Stere
Constantin Stere
Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea was a Romanian writer, jurist, politician, ideologue of the Poporanist trend, and, in March 1906, co-founder Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; , Konstantin Yegorovich Stere or Константин Георгиевич Стере, Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere;...
, Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu, 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:...
, Alexandru Djuvara
Alexandru Djuvara
-Early years:Djuvara was born in Bucharest on December 20, 1858. He was the uncle of prominent Romanian historian Neagu Djuvara.After graduation from Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, he went on to study Law in the School of History and Political Science...
, Constantin Alimănişteanu, Ion and Alexandru G. Radovici, Dinu
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 Vintilă Brătianu
Vintila Bratianu
Vintilă Brătianu was a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 24 November 1927 and 2 November 1928.Vintilă and his brothers Ion and Dinu were the leaders of the National Liberal Party of Romania...
), he was a member of a short-lived Parliamentary Committee charged with finding a solution to the agrarian issue; created in June, it was dissolved by the cabinet later in the same month. Soon after this, Sturdza and Ionescu engaged in a publicized argument, with Sturdza accusing him of having provoked the revolt through excessive taxation; reacting to this allegation, Ionescu rested the blame with antisemites inciting public sentiment against Jewish
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
leaseholders, and with a wider network of agitators. In addition, he virulently opposed PNL legislation that imposed a minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
for work on estates, a maximum income for leaseholders, and set aside grazing land for communal ownership. He argued that such demands went against regulations on the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and property. When a compromise was eventually reached regarding land prices and the land which was available for leasing to anyone other than communes, he defended it in front of opposition from within his own party, while pointing out ways in which professional leaseholders could avoid the letter of the law. Additionally, one of Ionescu's proposals, regarding the establishment of an agricultural bank (Casa Rurală) won support from both parties.
Split with the Conservatives
He broke away from the Conservative Party and founded the Conservative-Democratic Party (Partidul Conservator-Democrat, PCD) in early 1908. This followed a move by mainstream Conservatives to marginalize the pro-Ionescu faction. The Takists organized themselves at a congress in Bucharest in February of that year and, especially through their section in the capital, were successful in several consecutive elections.Upon the separation, Ionescu stated: "I have the deep conviction that Romania needs a conservative party, democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in its makeup, progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
in its tendencies, but firmly representing the ideas of social conservation
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
. This party must be strong, in order to form a counterbalance to the Left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, which, fatally and as indicated by the times, will move more and more to the Left". He stressed his principles in opposing Socialism
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,...
, indicating that he mistrusted its ability to reconcile with "maintaining freedom". Additionally, Ionescu made mention of reforming the census suffrage enshrined in the 1866 Constitution
1866 Constitution of Romania
The 1866 Constitution of Romania was the fundamental law that capped a period of nation-building in the Danubian Principalities, which had united in 1859. Drafted in a short time and using as its model the 1831 Constitution of Belgium, then considered Europe's most liberal, it was substantially...
, and expressed support for a single electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
to replace the three wealth-based ones in existence at the time.
The PCD was soon joined by Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
, who characterized Take Ionescu as "An indefatigable and wise patriot
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
", by the future diplomat 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:...
, by the doctor Constantin Istrati
Constantin Istrati
-Sources:*...
, the writer Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, the journalist Nicolae Xenopol, the former mayor of Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
Gheorghe Lascăr, the landowners Constantin Cantacuzino Paşcanu and Alexandru Bădărău, as well as by Xeni, who left a eulogistic account of his mentor. It became the target of attacks from both the PNL and the Conservatives, and was faced with the reticence of 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 I
Carol I of Romania
Carol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup...
. Nevertheless, Xeni contended, the new grouping profited from Ionescu's popularity with the lower strata of Romanian society, being identified as "one of their own". In this version of events, mainstream politicians allegedly convinced Carol that the PCD had an agenda to depose the ruling House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and had depicted Ionescu as "a «Belzebuth
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
» who was supposed to be removed from public life".
The PNL notably accused the Conservative-Democrats of having been instigated and financed by Mochi Fischer, one of the main leaseholders, whose land in Flămânzi
Flamânzi
Flămânzi is a town in Botoşani County, Romania. It administers five villages: Chiţoveni, Flămânzi , Nicolae Bălcescu, Poiana and Prisăcani....
had been the original center of agitation during the 1907 events. Among the points of contention between the PCD and the PNL were the 1908 expulsion of the socialist activist and România Muncitoare
România Muncitoare
România Muncitoare was a socialist newspaper, published in Bucharest, Romania....
leader Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
(based on an order which the PCD considered illegal) and the unsuccessful 1909 reform advanced by Minister of Education Spiru Haret
Spiru Haret
Spiru C. Haret was a Romanian mathematician, astronomer and politician. He made a fundamental contribution to the n-body problem in celestial mechanics by proving that using a third degree approximation for the disturbing forces implies instability of the major axes of the orbits, and by...
(which, among other things, prevented academics who taught Law from practicing, and created new university chairs, raising suspicions that these had been purposely designed to accommodate PNL members).
At the time, he became notorious as an Anglophile, and according to Xeni, adopted British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
manners in his private life, while being one of the few speakers of impeccable English in his country. As a model for his own party, Take Ionescu cited the British precedent set by Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
and his Tory Democracy.
Maiorescu government and the Balkan Wars
In late 1911, the PCD began talks for an alliance with the National Liberals, directed at the second Carp government, and opposed by King Carol (as it threatened to draw support for constitutional changes). Repeatedly calling on Carp to include PCD ministers in his executive, Ionescu sided with Brătianu in May 1911, during the scandal erupting over Bucharest's tram system (when the Conservatives uncovered that the former Mayor of BucharestMayor of Bucharest
The Mayor of Bucharest , sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for city-wide affairs, such as the water system, the transport system and the main boulevards...
, Vintilă Brătianu
Vintila Bratianu
Vintilă Brătianu was a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 24 November 1927 and 2 November 1928.Vintilă and his brothers Ion and Dinu were the leaders of the National Liberal Party of Romania...
, had contracted some of his fellow Liberals to complete the work in question). The matter escalated when Carp faced Parliament with a proposal for legislative changes, and publicly questioned Ion I. C. Brătianu's morality. The conflict prolonged itself over the following months, and ended with the fall of the Carp government and its replacement with a transitional one, headed by Maiorescu.
Eventually, in October 1912, Ionescu aided in the creation of a new executive comprising several Conservative tendencies and also led by Maiorescu, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs until December 1913. Before Romania intervened in the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
and annexed Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising the administrative districts named for its two principal cities of Dobrich and Silistra...
, Ionescu attempted to persuade Bulgarian
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
politician Stoyan Danev
Stoyan Danev
Stoyan Petrov Danev was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician and twice Prime Minister.A legal graduate of both the University of Heidelberg and the University of Paris, Danev served in a number of Ministerial roles, including Foreign Minister, and became known as a strong supporter of Imperial...
to accept ceding the region as compensation for incorporating Aromanian
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
-inhabited territories. Later, he reviewed tentative proposals for Romania to occupy Bulgaria itself, and rejected them outright. Ionescu continued to advise caution in respect to his country's policies in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and argued that Romania should not offend any of the three other kingdoms in the region (Bulgaria, Greece
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
, and Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
). Xeni argued that, In Ionescu's view, the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
announced a conflict on a much larger scale.
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
. In November 1913, Ionescu left for Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
with King Carol's approval, mediating between the Ottoman envoy Mehmed Talat Pasha
Mehmed Talat Pasha
Talaat Pasha Talaat Pasha Talaat Pasha (also transliterated as Tala'at Pasha or Talat Pasha was one of the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress that controlled the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.He was born in Edirne Vilayet. He was of Pomak descent...
, a member of the Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
, and the Greek executive. He was received in triumph, and managed to seal a deal between the two states, receiving in return public thanks from both governments, as well as the honorary citizenship of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Since the treaty was disadvantageous to defeated Bulgaria, Ionescu was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt (reportedly foiled by an ethnic Aromanian).
By early 1914, Ionescu became involved in a prolonged discussion with Luigi Luzzatti
Luigi Luzzatti
Luigi Luzzatti was an Italian political figure and served as the 31st Prime Minister of Italy between 1910 and 1911...
, former Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, who asked Romania to review its policies and allow Jewish Emancipation
Jewish Emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
(see History of the Jews in Romania
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
). He ultimately promised Luzzatti that all Jewish veterans of the Second Balkan War were going to be awarded Romanian citizenship, but the policy was overturned by the PNL's 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...
executive, coming to power in January 1914.
Outbreak of World War I
In late summer 1914, while traveling back from LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and receiving news of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
having erupted, Ionescu made a series of highly-accurate predictions — he theorized that Italy, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Romania itself were to be dragged into the conflict, that the Central Powers were to be initially victorious, and that, after a series of setbacks, "we shall get to see 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...
with our own eyes". Reportedly, he also foretold a worldwide rise in support for left-wing causes.
Ionescu initially supported Romania's neutrality. Nevertheless, unlike the main Conservative group, his PCD soon began intense advocacy of joining the war effort against the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, calling for Romania to incorporate the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
-ruled regions of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, and 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...
(Ionescu argued that Romania could not exist unless "we are straddling the Carpathians
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
"). Defining the Austrian monarchy as "a sad nothingness", Ionescu expressed his opinion that the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Austria-Hungary's main ally, was gripped by the influence of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n "corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
ism". Xeni recounted that Ionescu had displayed a degree of sympathy with King Carol's position, contending that the monarch was not entirely opposed to joining the Entente in its war effort.
According to one of the PCD's main opponents, the writer and journalist Tudor Arghezi
Tudor Arghezi
Tudor Arghezi was a Romanian writer, best known for his contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest , he explained that his pen name was related to Argesis, the Latin name for the Argeş River.-Early life:Along with Mihai Eminescu, Mateiu Caragiale, and...
, Ionescu changed his priorities on the very day King Carol convoked a Crown Council
Crown Council
Crown 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...
which confirmed neutrality policies (August 3, 1914). In this version of events, the Conservative Democrat commented upon the necessity of supporting the Entente Powers
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
just as he was leaving Peleş Castle
Peles Castle
Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914...
; Arghezi commented with irony that: "before reaching the street, Mr. Take Ionescu had reviewed his ideas several times. [...] It would seem that Mr. Take Ionescu's ideas are stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
, just like premature babies, born before their time and dead before having an age". He also expressed a view that the new policy was "demagogy
Demagogy
Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
", intended to bring the PCD into government ("Let all perish, as long as Mr. Take Ionescu succeeds!"), and contrasted Ionescu's claim to represent popular interest with his refusal to accept land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
and universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
.
Similar views were expressed by the notorious 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,...
and Zimmerwald pacifist
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
, leader of 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:...
. Writing to his main collaborator Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in May 1915, he accused Ionescu of "making a political principle out of venality", and of being "a man of vulgar ambitions and unmeasurable vanity, a politician of no faith, no convictions, who considers political programs to be each a cause to plead". Contending that Take Ionescu aimed to be "on all occasions, on the winning side, courting people in power", Rakovsky believed that his support for the Entente was conjectural: "Until yesterday, [he] was the man who continuously tied friendships with the Germans [...]. Anticipating victory for the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, [he] has now become their man, and, finding it difficult to return to his old sympathies, he threatens that, in case Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
were to fail, he would expatriate himself to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Romanian people having lost, in the eyes of such a «patriot
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
», all interest once he would no longer have the hope of returning to power". On the other side of the political spectrum, Ionescu remained at odds with the Conservative leader Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp , commonly rendered as P. P. Carp, was a Romanian conservative politician and literary critic who served as a Prime Minister of Romania for two terms...
; in 1915, referring to his policies, Carp remarked: "Talent does not justify all avatars, just as beauty does not justify all forms of prostitution".
Seeking a settlement 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...
over the territorial issue, Ionescu traveled to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
on one occasion, meeting with Miklós Bánffy
Miklós Bánffy
Count Miklós Bánffy de Losoncz was a Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist. His books include The Transylvanian Trilogy , and The Phoenix Land.The Bánffy family emerged in 15th century Transylvania and established itself among the foremost dynasties of the...
: vehemently stating his goal of incorporating the regions into the Kingdom of Romania
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...
, he was answered that Austria-Hungary intended to extend its influence to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
(Ionescu recounted: "we agreed that we could never agree"). Ionescu kept close contacts with Entente politicians, and notably with the prominent French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Radical-Socialist Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
, who described him as "a great European, albeit Romanian down to his marrow, having for his country the highest and most legitimate of ambitions". At the time, he deplored Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
' deposition from the office of Prime Minister (October 1915).
1916
Following Carol's death and Ferdinand IFerdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand was the King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death.-Early life:Born in Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany, the Roman Catholic Prince Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern, was a son of Leopold, Prince of...
's ascension to the throne, his pro-Entente activism intensified. He was at the forefront of a major grouping of various public figures who, despite differences in politics, supported an alliance with France and Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, including Nicolae Filipescu, Constantin Istrati
Constantin Istrati
-Sources:*...
, 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,...
, Vasile Lucaciu
Vasile Lucaciu
Vasile Lucaciu was a Romanian Greek-Catholic priest and an advocate of equal rights with the Hungarians in Transylvania....
, Barbu Ştefănescu-Delavrancea, Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright. Co-founder of the Democratic Nationalist Party , he served as a member of Parliament, President of the Deputies' Assembly and Senate, cabinet minister and briefly as Prime Minister...
, Simion Mândrescu, Ioan Cantacuzino
Ioan Cantacuzino
Ioan C. Cantacuzino was a renowned Romanian physician and bacteriologist, a professor at the Romanian School of Medicine and Pharmacy and a member of the Romanian Academy...
, Nicolae Xenopol, 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...
, Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist...
, as well as Take Ionescu's brother Thoma. Their adversary Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
accused Mille, a former socialist, of using his two dailies, Adevărul
Adevarul
Adevărul is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in 1871 and reestablished in 1888, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Romanian Kingdom's existence, adopting an independent pro-democratic position, advocating land reform and universal suffrage...
and Dimineaţa, as venues for Takist propaganda, and claimed that this was accomplished "under the mask of independence" (additionally, he stated: "[Ionescu] thus compensated for the weakness of his party, both in men and ideas, through corrupting the press").
In late 1915, Ionescu and most like-minded activists formed a body known as Acţiunea Naţională ("National Action") or Federaţia unionistă ("Unionist Federation"). It found relative support from the new monarch, but his policies were rejected by the PNL cabinet 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...
— although the latter force supported the Entente, it decided not to enter the war until the Entente powers were to recognize Romanian rule in Transylvania, Bukovina, and the Banat, as well as provide the country with military assistance. In contrast, Ionescu's attitude, as paraphrased by Stephen Bonsal
Stephen Bonsal
Stephen Bonsal was an American journalist, war correspondent, author, diplomat and translator.-Early life:Bonsal was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was educated at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He continued his studies in Germany at Heidelberg, Bonn and Vienna. Bonsal traveled...
, was: "Our rôle is that of an unconditional ally of the democracies. We must not drive a bargain. We should and can rely on the appreciation of our allies when the victory is won".
According to the PNL's 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:...
, Brătianu, who was the main target of Acţiunea Naţionalăs criticism, "wrapped himself in an atmosphere of silence and played the sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
". With Thoma Ionescu, 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 Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
, campaigning among academics, and with Take Ionescu maintaining contacts with the PNL minister Alexandru Constantinescu-Porcu, the Entente supporters were becoming increasingly influential by 1915. In late 1914, they successfully replaced the leadership of the Cultural League with a panel of Acţiunea Naţională members.
Treaty of Bucharest, 1916
The Treaty of Bucharest of 1916 was signed between Romania and the Entente Powers on 4 /17 August 1916 in Bucharest. The treaty stipulated the conditions under which Romania agreed to join the war on the side of the Entente, particularly territorial promises in Austro-Hungary...
was sealed, recognizing Romanian demands in front of the Entente, Brătianu approved of entering the conflict and agreed to declare war on the Central powers. On August 7, 1916, the matter was communicated to political leaders in a Crown Council
Crown Council
Crown 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...
held at Cotroceni Palace
Cotroceni Palace
Cotroceni Palace is a palace in Bucharest which is the residence of the President of Romania, located at Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1.On Cotroceni Hill, in 1679, Şerban Cantacuzino built a monastery...
in Bucharest; Ionescu, who was visiting Sinaia
Sinaia
Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai...
together with the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
Halsey E. Yates, rushed back to the capital after being invited by Constantinescu-Porcu. Being advised to maintain secrecy over the proceedings, he hid the reasons for his return by starting a rumor that the outbreak of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in Sinaia had gotten out of control.
Other politicians attending the Council included several government ministers (Brătianu, Duca, Constantinescu-Porcu, Vasile Morţun, Emil Costinescu, Alexandru G. Radovici, Emanoil Porumbaru, 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....
, 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....
), Parliamentary
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
leaders (Mihail Pherekyde
Mihail Pherekyde
Mihail Pherekyde was a Romanian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and two terms as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kingdom of Romania-Life and political career:...
, Constantin Robescu), former premiers (Titu Maiorescu
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century....
, Theodor Rosetti
Theodor Rosetti
Theodor Rosetti was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 13 April 1888 and 11 April 1889....
, and Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp , commonly rendered as P. P. Carp, was a Romanian conservative politician and literary critic who served as a Prime Minister of Romania for two terms...
), other party leaders (Nicolae Filipescu and Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman was a Romanian conservative statesman who served for a short time in 1918 as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I.-Early career:...
) and former Chamber presidents (Constantin Olănescu and Constantin Cantacuzino Paşcanu). Conservatives present voiced their disapproval, with Maiorescu as the most vocal opponent: Maiorescu and Brătianu notably engaged in a separate debate about whether Transylvanians had called on Romania to intervene — the former argued that no such call had been voiced, while Brătianu contended that he had support from over the border (Ionescu seconded this claim).
As most of the political leaders present at te meeting approved of the change in policy, Carp gave a short speech in which he refused to back Ferdinand's decision and wished "for Your Majesty's armies to be defeated", although commenting that he would "give Your Majesty my four sons, because Romanians are brave in the military". In a private conversation with Premier Brătianu, Take Ionescu contended that "[Carp] is Shakespearean
Shakespearean tragedy
Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. One of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, his most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608...
in his error. He does not surprise me, given that I never took him seriously to begin with. You have taken him seriously, and this is your own fault".
Romanian Campaign
The country subsequently suffered a series of defeats and all its southern areas were occupied by the Central Powers (see Romanian CampaignRomanian Campaign (World War I)
The Romanian Campaign was part of the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers. Fighting took place from August 1916 to December 1917, across most of present-day Romania, including Transylvania, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian...
). Ionescu followed Romanian authorities into refuge to the provisional capital of Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, being hosted by C. Konya, a well-known pharmacist whose house was near the local university. Ionescu's house on Bucharest's Atena Street was ransacked and partly vandalized by German troops — 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...
recounted that this was accomplished "methodically", and constituted "an exception" to the German administration's "scrupulous respect for private property". According to Take Ionescu himself, his lodging had been destroyed on special orders from August von Mackensen
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen , born August Mackensen, was a German soldier and field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year...
in December 1916 (he also contrasted this action with his promise to protect the property of former German ambassador, Hilmar von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen, after he had left Bucharest earlier in the same year).
He was brought to office as a Vice-Premier and Minister Secretary of State (Minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
), in a War Cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
headed by the PNL's leader Brătianu, serving between July 1917 and January 1918. According to Xeni, Ionescu's advocacy of an Entente alliance had made him the target of intense criticism, at a time when the territory still controlled by Romanian authorities was suffering major hardships, and replied that "war had to be made". At the same time, he and the premier agreed on the principles of electoral
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:...
and land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
to be carried out in a future Romania, as the Conservatives appeared destined to lose appeal.
Romania ultimately signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers
Treaty of Bucharest, 1918
The Treaty of Bucharest was a peace treaty which the German Empire forced Romania to sign on 7 May 1918 following the Romanian campaign of 1916-1917.-Main terms of the treaty:...
in 1918 — soon after, Ionescu received approval to leave for Paris and London. While passing through Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
, his native city, he was reportedly booed
Booing
Booing is an act of showing displeasure for someone or something, generally an entertainer, by loudly yelling boo! or making other noises of disparagement, such as hissing. People may make hand signs at the entertainer, such as the thumbs down sign...
by a crowd of opponents. After the Armistice with Germany
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
, which signaled a change in fortunes, he began actively campaigning for the international recognition of Romania's union with Transylvania
Union of Transylvania with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia.The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day occurring on December 1, commemorates this event...
as advanced by 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...
, creating the National Romanian Council, grouping politicians from several regions, many of whom had opposed the separate peace (these included the Transylvanians 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,...
and Vasile Lucaciu
Vasile Lucaciu
Vasile Lucaciu was a Romanian Greek-Catholic priest and an advocate of equal rights with the Hungarians in Transylvania....
), and supporting an anti-Hungarian alliance of Balkan states that played a part in creating 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...
.
In December, Ionescu met with Venizelos and 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...
leader Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , sometimes called Thomas Masaryk in English, was an Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovak politician, sociologist and philosopher, who as an eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, also was...
to discuss a common approach; expressing support for Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an alliances while commenting on the unresolved dispute involving Romania and the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
, Masaryk confided in Stephen Bonsal
Stephen Bonsal
Stephen Bonsal was an American journalist, war correspondent, author, diplomat and translator.-Early life:Bonsal was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was educated at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He continued his studies in Germany at Heidelberg, Bonn and Vienna. Bonsal traveled...
that: "Solutions are still beyond our immediate reach, but I am confident that we have cleared ground for the co-operation at the Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
".
Despite his intense activism, he was denied a presence in the Romanian delegation to the Conference, owing to his renewed conflict with Prime Minister Brătianu. This followed a major disagreement in policy, after the National Liberals decided not to accept all Allied resolution on principle, and instead to renegotiate Romania's position on the international stage. In December 1919, answering to concerns that he was leading a risky path, Brătianu spoke out in Parliament against what he saw as demeaning "the role [the Romanian people] should have in the world".
Following Bessie Ionescu's death in a horse-riding accident, Ionescu married Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki in 1919 (she was also known as Adina Olmazu). Also in that year, he published a volume of French-language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
essays and memoirs; going through an English edition, it was first published in Romania in 1923.
Alliance with Averescu
He returned to his country in autumn 1919, with a designs to form a single political group of democraticDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
persuasion, stressing Conservative accomplishments (such as selling state land to peasants and confiscating mainmorte estates), while aiming to persuade the PNL to back electoral reform. During his stay in Paris, while the main Conservative Party disintegrated, the PCD had itself suffered a major crisis; according to Ionescu's rival and one-time political partner 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...
, Ionescu's temporary residence on Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei is a major avenue in central Bucharest. It leads from Splaiul Independenţei to the north and then northwest up to Piaţa Victoriei, where Şoseaua Kiseleff continues north....
subsequently became a meeting place for various Conservative politicians (whom Argetoianu repeatedly described as "Conservative wrecks").
Eventually, in 1919, Ionescu's group formed an alliance with the newly-created People's League, headed by General Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu was a Romanian marshal and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets . He first rose to prominence during the peasant's revolt of 1907, which he helped repress in violence...
. Averescu, who was celebrated for his wartime command of the Romanian Army, shared several viewpoints with the PCD and, according to Argetoianu's ironic version of events, "a great, albeit undisclosed, spiritual affinity: they both belonged to the reptilian class". The alliance went through two stages: early in the year, the PCD signed an electoral pact with Averescu's grouping — the People League's Argetoianu, who led the talks, later indicated that he had sabotaged all possibility of an actual merger, believing it to be detrimental to his grouping; in autumn, the newly-returned Ionescu met with the general to discuss a project for increased cooperation. At the time, Argetoianu indicated, Ionescu viewed himself as a favorite of the Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
governments, and, while maintaining close relations with Averescu, refused to discuss a fusion. Reportedly, Averescu unsuccessfully offered Ionescu the League's presidency in exchange for being recognized as the main candidate for the premiership. The PCD leader changed his attitude as it became apparent that Averescu, who was appointed Prime Minister by Ferdinand, was set to win the elections, and, according to Constantin Argetoianu, had to allow Averescu the upper hand in the deal.
The PCD came to power following the landslide victory in the 1921 election (when the PCD won 17 seats in addition to the People Party's 206). Take Ionescu was again brought to a cabinet position between 1920 and 1921, replacing Duiliu Zamfirescu
Duiliu Zamfirescu
Duiliu Zamfirescu was a Romanian novelist, poet, short story writer, lawyer, nationalist politician, journalist, diplomat and memoirist. In 1909, he was elected a member of the Romanian Academy, and, for a while in 1920, he was Foreign Minister of Romania...
as Foreign Minister in the Averescu cabinet. Argetoianu indicated that the PCD had not been part of the original cabinet makeup due to Averescu's maneuvers: reportedly, the general presented his group as the main candidate in the elections, and allowed the Conservative-Democrats to have a share in government only after he was validated by the popular vote. Expanding on this issue, Argetoianu stated: "Take Ionescu hoped to achieve popularity through his activity in Paris and thus impose himself either at the top, in spheres of the [Royal] Palace, or at the bottom, in the popular masses. Unfortunately for him, he found no vacant spot either up or down. At the top, Brătianu remained adamantly, as always, the person of trust, and at the bottom Averescu's popularity, with its fetishistic
Fetishism
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others...
character, allowed no one to present even the most limited of challenges. Take Ionescu, for all his merits and for all his intelligence, was doomed to continue his career as a trailer and hung on to Averescu, as his collaborator".
Foreign Minister and premiership
The appointment came at a time when his Little Entente project had already been fulfilled, and extended, from the Romanian perspective, through the alliance with the Second Polish RepublicSecond 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...
(see Polish-Romanian Alliance
Polish-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...
). According to journalist Noti Constantinide, who visited him during his stay in Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
(March 1921), Ionescu, whom he called "the most intelligent person I ever met", was actively promoting the Romanian and Little Entente causes, seeking to sway public opinion in Allied countries. Through Constantinide, Ionescu was informed that Charles, former Emperor of Austria
Emperor of Austria
The Emperor of Austria was a hereditary imperial title and position proclaimed in 1804 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until the last emperor relinquished power in 1918. The emperors retained the title of...
and King of Hungary, had decided in favor of secretly returning to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and taking back one of his thrones; the information, according to Constantinide, was passed to him by an 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...
n officer in 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...
's service, who had decided to betray his superiors. The information proved accurate, but Ionescu reportedly dismissed similar news, received some time after, of Charles' planning a second such attempt — this was to be effected in October, and, although more successful than the March episode, it too ended in Charles' expulsion (see Charles IV of Hungary's conflict with Miklós Horthy).
He began looking for an agreement with Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
over the issue of 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 the Romanian Treasure
Romanian Treasure
The Romanian Treasure is a collection of valuable objects the Romanian government sent to Russia for safekeeping during World War I. It was only partially returned .-Historical background:...
, but bilateral relations remained tense. Inside the cabinet, Ionescu successfully promoted 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:...
(for the Finance
Ministry of Public Finance (Romania)
The Ministry of Public Finance of Romania is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania.The minister's seat is currently held by the Democratic Liberal Party's Gheorghe Ialomiţeanu.The following agencies are subordinated to the Minister:...
portfolio) and Dimitrie Greceanu (for Public Works), but had to accept the former's resignation in late 1920, after Titulescu cited irreconcilable differences in political ideology (declaring himself to be much more left-wing than his party's chief) and reproached Ionescu the fact that he had intervened in financial affairs.
The Averescu executive, maneuvered by Brătianu and meeting with stiff opposition from the Romanian National
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'
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...
and Democratic Nationalist parties, was ultimately brought down by Take Ionescu himself, through his resignation from office on December 11, 1921. This came as the project for land reform
Land reform in Romania
Four major land reforms have taken place in Romania: in 1864, 1921, 1945 and 1991. The first sought to undo the feudal structure that had persisted after the unification of the Danubian Principalities in 1859; the second, more drastic reform, tried to resolve lingering peasant discontent and create...
provoked a standoff in Parliament, after the PNL persuaded King Ferdinand that Averescu had to resign, and Ionescu agreed to induce an artificial crisis for the general to hand over his mandate.
Ionescu was ultimately Prime Minister for one month, from December 18, 1921, until January 19, 1922. In this capacity, he oversaw the marriage agreement between King Alexander I
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and Princess Marioara
Maria of Romania
Maria of Yugoslavia was the Queen consort of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. She was originally a princess of Romania.-Early life:She was born in Gotha, Thuringia, in Germany, during the reigns of her maternal grandfather Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and her grand-uncle King Carol I of...
. He resigned after a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
, which Ferdinand hoped to see bringing Averescu back to power, but was instead faced with a new PNL majority, formed after the 1922 elections.
Death
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in summer 1922, Take Ionescu contracted typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, and died at a sanitarium on Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Via Toscana (according to sources, he had contracted the disease while in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, having eaten an infected oyster, and fell ill while crossing into Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
). The final diagnosis was "typhic ulcerous aortitis
Aortitis
-Causes:This inflammation has a number of possible causes, to include: trauma, viral infection, certain immune disorders, and bacterial infection .-Treatment:...
and internal abdominal angina
Abdominal angina
Abdominal angina is postprandial abdominal pain that occurs in individuals with insufficient blood flow to meet mesenteric visceral demands. The term angina is used in reference to angina pectoris, a similar symptom due to obstruction of the coronary artery...
". The unusual circumstances of his illness provoked scientific interest, and, during the early 1920s, it was discussed in medical circles as the "Take Ionescu disease".
Returning from 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...
, Brătianu paid a visit to the moribund Ionescu, and reportedly acknowledged the merits of his Balkan projects ("You were right, Mr. Ionescu. Having witnessed the chaos in Geneva, I had [instead] the opportunity of seeing of just how much help the creation and solidarity of the Little Entente has been to us").
The train transporting his remains was saluted by Serb officials when passing through their country, and received in Bucharest with the sirens of several locomotives blowing in unison (as a sign of respect). The casket, wrapped in the Romanian tricolor
Flag of Romania
The national flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginning from the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3....
, was displayed in the Romanian Athenaeum
Romanian Athenaeum
The Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's main concert hall and home of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic and of the George Enescu annual international...
building for several days. A public procession, led by King Ferdinand, accompanied the casket, placed on a caisson
Caisson (military)
A limber is a two-wheeled cart designed to support the trail of an artillery piece, or the stock of a field carriage such as a caisson or traveling forge, allowing it to be towed. A caisson is a two-wheeled cart designed to carry artillery ammunition...
, down to Bucharest's Gara de Nord
Gara de Nord
București Gara de Nord is the main railway station in Bucharest and the largest railway station in Romania...
, whence it was transported for burial in Sinaia
Sinaia
Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai...
(June 30, 1922).
Ionescu was buried in the inner courtyard of Sinaia Monastery
Sinaia Monastery
The Sinaia Monastery, located in Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, was founded by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai. As of 2005, it is inhabited by 13 Christian Orthodox monks led by hegumen Macarie Bogus...
, inside a marble crypt having quotes from his speeches carved into its walls, and in the vicinity of a fir tree planted in 1848 by a group of Wallachian revolutionaries (one of whom was Ionescu's ancestor Ion Heliade Rădulescu
Ion Heliade Radulescu
Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade was a Wallachian-born Romanian academic, Romantic and Classicist poet, essayist, memoirist, short story writer, newspaper editor and politician...
). The grave site had been previously donated by the Romanian state to Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki.
Legacy
Spiritele anului 3000, authored when Ionescu was just 17, is thought to be one of the first works of science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
in Romanian literature
Literature of Romania
Romanian literature is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language.Eugène Ionesco is one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd....
. Written as a first-person narrative
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
and dream sequence, it depicts its author and main character falling into slumber and awaking on the close of the 30th century. The world he encounters is peopled by humans of a small stature, who reach full maturity at the age of 15. Spiritele anului 3000 is part political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
and part political project. Humanity is unified into a single confederation of republics and administrated from Liberty (a completely new capital built up on an artificial island
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
), while monarchies and wars have disappeared altogether. Romania is set "in her natural borders" through the intervention of a Supreme Tribunal, while the Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
adopts a form to Ionescu's liking (having shunned the more artificial etymology favored by Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n intellectuals and 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....
alike). The Romanian climate
Climate of Romania
Because of its position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate which ranges from temperate to continental. Climatic conditions are somewhat modified by the country's varied topography...
is improved by afforestation
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
, the country is spanned by canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s, and the garden-like Bucharest, over which the narrator and Aru, his friend from the future, fly in a moored balloon
Moored balloon
A moored balloon is an inflated fabric structure, often shaped like an airship and usually filled with helium, that is restrained by a cable attached to the ground or a vehicle. Moored balloons differ from airships and free balloons in that it is not free-flying.Moored balloons are sometimes...
, no longer has any churches left standing.
The Conservative-Democratic Party did not survive the death of its leader, and disbanded over the same year. According to his one-time political ally 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,...
, Ionescu "concentrated within him the character of improvised Muntenia
Muntenia
Muntenia is a historical province of Romania, usually considered Wallachia-proper . It is situated between the Danube , the Carpathian Mountains and Moldavia , and the Olt River to the west...
n 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...
". Praising him for his qualities while also contending that his discourse "bordered on demagogy
Demagogy
Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
", Goga stated "I do not believe, though, that he could have ever gone as far in a Western country or in a balanced country such as England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
". He described their relationship thus: "He did all sorts of favors for me, he won me money loans, he promised me a ministry from the very beginning, he declared me «a genius» in his article for La Roumanie, — I nonetheless remained, in front of him, as I would remain in front of a woman who in vain tries to earn my love, as she does not project an image of moral responsibility".
Writing on the nomenclature used in the works of Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
, the literary critic Garabet Ibrăileanu
Garabet Ibraileanu
Garabet Ibrăileanu was a Romanian-Armenian literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, Iaşi University professor , and, together with Paul Bujor and Constantin Stere, for long main editor of the Viaţa Românească literary magazine between 1906 and 1930...
noted the use and special meaning of pet forms. Commenting, among others, on the banality of the names "Take"/"Tache" and "Ionescu", he contended that Ionescu had transported the moniker into general acceptance, out of the reach of its familiar connotations: "«Take Ionescu» is utterly banal [...], but this name, due to the person who bore it, has gained through association a special prestige. This is why, if we were to see it today being used by a common Ionescu, the occurrence would seem comical to us". Expanding on this issue, he noted that both the derisive tone in Caragiale's works and Ionescu's career reflected, each in its own way, the growth in importance of a single social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, the "national bourgeoisie".
Take Ionescu's enduring admiration and support for countries in the Anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
and for the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
was reflected in contemporary popular culture. As Xeni indicated, Ionescu was depicted in satirical works either as an English "sportsman" or "an immense cylinder wrapped up in the stars of the American flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
"). Ionescu's popularity before and during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
also made him the center of a cultural trend, and the subject of imitation. According to Tudor Arghezi
Tudor Arghezi
Tudor Arghezi was a Romanian writer, best known for his contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest , he explained that his pen name was related to Argesis, the Latin name for the Argeş River.-Early life:Along with Mihai Eminescu, Mateiu Caragiale, and...
, he was personally responsible for raising the prestige of Ştefan Luchian
Stefan Luchian
Ștefan Luchian or Lukian was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works.-Early life:He was born in Ștefănești, a village of Botoșani County, as the son of Major Dumitru Luchian and of Elena Chiriacescu. The Luchian family moved to Bucharest in 1873 and his mother desired...
, an impoverished painter, being among the first ever to purchase more than one of the latter's paintings.
The friendship between Ionescu and Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
left behind its own artistic legacy: in late 1913 or early 1915, the Ionescu residence in Bucharest was decorated with a stone bas-relief of the goddess Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, which was inlaid into the masonry. Additionally, after Take Ionescu's death, Venizelos donated a bloc of Parian marble
Parian marble
Parian marble is a fine-grained semitranslucent pure-white and entirely flawless marble quarried during the classical era on the Greek island of Paros in the Aegean Sea.It was highly prized by ancient Greeks for making sculptures...
to be used for the politician's bust (ultimately placed inside the Chamber quarters on Mitropoliei Hill), and another marble bloc to be used for his grave in Sinaia Monastery
Sinaia Monastery
The Sinaia Monastery, located in Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, was founded by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai. As of 2005, it is inhabited by 13 Christian Orthodox monks led by hegumen Macarie Bogus...
.
Immediately after Ionescu's 1913 mission to Greece, the street he lived on was renamed Atena (Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
for "Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
"). A section of the present-day Magheru Boulevard
Bulevardul Magheru
Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru is a boulevard in central Bucharest, located between Piaţa Romană and Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu, which leads to the University Square. It is named after General Gheorghe Magheru, a Romanian revolutionary and soldier from Wallachia.Formerly known as Bulevardul Take...
in Bucharest was initially named in Ionescu's honor. Undergoing a name change during the Communist period
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...
, a section of the former Atena Street was assigned the name Take Ionescu in the wake of the 1989 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...
. Atena Street housed a large statue of Take Ionescu, the work of French sculptor Ernest Dubois, depicting him standing alongside two female nudes, representing the ideal borders 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...
(the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
and the Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
), and pointing toward Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. The monument was notably criticized by architectural historian Grigore Ionescu, who argued that it was "an inferior replica of Ion Brătianu
Ion Bratianu
Ion C. Brătianu was one of the major political figures of 19th century Romania. He was the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu...
's monument".
Under the Communist regime, Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki was allowed to continue residing in the house Ionescu had built for her in the proximity of Şoseaua Kiseleff
Soseaua Kiseleff
Şoseaua Kiseleff is a major road in Bucharest that runs as a northward continuation of Calea Victoriei. The road was created in 1832 by Pavel Kiselyov, the commander of the Russian occupation troops in Wallachia and Moldavia...
, but had to share her lodging with a section of the Republican Art Museum
National Museum of Art of Romania
The National Museum of Art of Romania is located in the former royal palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest, Romania, completed in 1937...
, and was assigned a room on the underground floor.