Gheorghe Tătărescu facts for kids
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Gheorghe Tătărescu
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| 36th Prime Minister of Romania | |
| In office 25 November 1939 – 4 July 1940 |
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| Monarch | Carol II |
| Preceded by | Constantin Argetoianu |
| Succeeded by | Ion Gigurtu |
| In office 3 January 1934 – 28 December 1937 |
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| Monarch | Carol II |
| Preceded by | Constantin Anghelescu |
| Succeeded by | Octavian Goga |
| Vice President of the Council of Ministers | |
| In office 6 March 1945 – 5 November 1947 |
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| Monarch | Michael I |
| Prime Minister | Petru Groza |
| Preceded by | Petru Groza |
| Succeeded by | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej |
| Member of the Crown Council | |
| In office 30 March 1938 – 6 September 1940 |
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| Monarch | Carol II |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 6 March 1945 – 29 December 1947 |
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| Prime Minister | Petru Groza |
| Preceded by | Constantin Vișoianu |
| Succeeded by | Ana Pauker |
| In office 11 February 1938 – 29 March 1938 |
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| Prime Minister | Miron Cristea |
| Preceded by | Istrate Micescu |
| Succeeded by | Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen |
| In office 2 October 1934 – 9 October 1934 |
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| Preceded by | Nicolae Titulescu |
| Succeeded by | Nicolae Titulescu |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 25 November 1939 – 30 November 1939 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Nicolae Ottescu |
| Succeeded by | Mihail Ghelmegeanu |
| In office 23 February 1937 – 14 November 1937 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Dumitru Iuca |
| Succeeded by | Richard Franasovici |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 November 1886 Târgu Jiu, Romania |
| Died | 28 March 1957 (aged 70) Bucharest, Romania |
| Political party | National Liberal Party National Renaissance Front National Liberal Party-Tătărescu |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (born November 2, 1886 – died March 28, 1957) was an important Romanian politician. He served as Prime Minister of Romania twice (1934–1937 and 1939–1940). He was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs three times and the Minister of War once (1934).
Tătărescu started his political journey as part of the "young liberals" group within the National Liberal Party (PNL). He was known for being against communism. During his first time as Prime Minister, he became close to King Carol II. He played a role in setting up a stronger government under the King, called the National Renaissance Front. In 1940, he agreed to give up parts of Romania, like Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, to the Soviet Union. After this, he had to resign.
Later, during World War II, Gheorghe Tătărescu tried to unite political groups against Ion Antonescu's rule. He even sought an alliance with the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). He was removed from the PNL twice, in 1938 and 1944. He then created his own group, the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu. This group was part of the government led by Petru Groza, which was supported by the Communists. From 1946 to 1947, he also led the Romanian team at the Peace Conference in Paris. However, his relationship with the Communist Party became difficult. He was removed from his party and the Foreign Ministry after being linked to the Tămădău Affair. After the Communists took over, he was arrested and held in prison for political reasons. He was also asked to speak in the trial of Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu. He passed away soon after being released from prison.
He became an honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1937 but was removed by the communist authorities in 1948.
Contents
Early Life and Political Beginnings
Gheorghe Tătărescu was born in Târgu Jiu. He went to Carol I High School in Craiova. Later, he studied in France and earned a doctorate from the University of Paris in 1912. His studies focused on Romania's parliamentary system. After returning to Romania, he worked as a lawyer in Bucharest. He had a son named Tudor and a daughter named Sanda.
He joined the National Liberal Party (PNL). In November 1919, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Gorj County. Early in his political career, he questioned the government about its handling of socialist activities in the countryside.
Tătărescu was part of the "young liberals" within the PNL. This group supported free trade and a stronger government under King Carol II. They disagreed with older party leaders who preferred liberal democracy.
From 1922 to 1926, he served as an Undersecretary in the Interior Affairs Ministry. He became known for working with Ion G. Duca. Before World War II, Tătărescu was strongly against communism. He pushed for the Romanian Communist Party (PCdR) to be outlawed. He argued that the Tatarbunary Uprising, supported by the Comintern, showed that communism was a threat to Greater Romania.
First Time as Prime Minister
Becoming Prime Minister
Tătărescu became Prime Minister in January 1934. This happened after the fascist Iron Guard assassinated Prime Minister Duca in December 1933. His government was the second PNL cabinet during King Carol II's reign. Since the King couldn't get support from the main PNL group, he became very close to the young liberals, and Tătărescu supported the King's move towards a royal dictatorship. One of Tătărescu's first actions was to remove Dem I. Dobrescu, the Mayor of Bucharest, from office.
This period was important for Romania's economy. The country was recovering from the Great Depression. Even with some problems, many people saw more prosperity than before. This was partly due to new economic policies that Tătărescu supported. The state became a major player in economic activities, which helped successful businesses. This also led to a group of powerful industrialists, like Aristide Blank and Nicolae Malaxa, becoming very influential.
Foreign Policy and European Relations
As Prime Minister, Tătărescu tried to balance two main goals in foreign policy. He wanted to strengthen the alliance with Poland against the Soviet Union. At the same time, he reacted to the growing power of Nazi Germany by keeping the Little Entente strong and making new contacts with the Soviets.
In August 1936, he removed Nicolae Titulescu from his position as Foreign Minister. This caused a lot of upset among Romania's diplomats. Many of Titulescu's supporters were also recalled from their posts. Tătărescu was later criticized by his own party for changing Romania's diplomatic direction.
In early 1937, Tătărescu turned down a proposal from Poland to stop supporting Czechoslovakia and make peace with Hungary. Later that year, a scandal happened when Czechoslovakia's ambassador to Romania published a book. The book called for military cooperation between the Little Entente and the Soviets, even though Romania and the Soviet Union had a conflict over Bessarabia.
Dealing with the Iron Guard
To deal with the Iron Guard, Tătărescu eased pressure on them. Instead, he focused on stopping the activities of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR).
In April 1936, Tătărescu and the Minister of the Interior allowed a youth congress to take place in Târgu Mureș. They knew it was actually a meeting for fascists. People attending the congress damaged a memorial plate for Ion Duca and openly shared their violent anti-Jewish views.
In February 1937, the Iron Guard started a strong public campaign. This included large funerals for Ion Moța and Vasile Marin, who died in the Spanish Civil War. It also involved Guardist students physically attacking Traian Bratu, the rector of the University of Iași. In response, Tătărescu ordered all universities in the country to close.
Later that year, Tătărescu's cooperation with the King, and his success in attracting nationalist votes from the Iron Guard, led to an agreement. The Iron Guard, the National Peasants' Party, and the National Liberal Party-Brătianu signed an electoral pact. This was meant to stop the King from manipulating election results. Tătărescu also made agreements with the fascist Romanian Front and German Party, which angered his opponents in the PNL.
The 1937 elections had an unusual outcome. Tătărescu's PNL got the most votes (almost 36%), but not enough to get a majority bonus (which required 40%). The far-right groups gained a lot of support, with the Iron Guard getting 15.6% of the vote. Facing the possibility of an Iron Guard government, King Carol II asked Octavian Goga's National Christian Party to form a new government in December.
After this, Tătărescu stepped down from his party offices. In May 1938, the King, with Tătărescu's support, dissolved all political parties. They created the National Renaissance Front instead.
Modernizing the Military
As Prime Minister, Tătărescu was very interested in making the Romanian Armed Forces more modern. Soon after becoming Prime Minister, he created the Ministry of Armaments, which he led himself. This ministry existed for over three years.
Under Tătărescu, Romania started a ten-year program to rearm its military on April 27, 1935. As part of this program, Romania bought many weapons, including howitzers from Škoda Works and tanks from Czechoslovakia. In 1937, Romania also ordered aircraft from Germany. Romanian technicians were hired to build a shipyard at Galați using materials from the Reșița works. There, two submarines were built between 1938 and 1943. Romania also began producing its own fighter aircraft, the PZL P.11 and later the improved PZL P.24, with 95 and 25 planes built respectively.
Second Time as Prime Minister
Tătărescu decided to support the new government system. The PNL, like other parties, continued to operate secretly. He had personally signed the document banning opposition parties, and because of this, he was removed from the PNL in April 1938.
Soon after his second time in power, Tătărescu became known for supporting the modern sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. He used state money to help build Brâncuși's famous The Endless Column complex in Târgu Jiu, which was finished in October 1938.
Tătărescu became a key figure among politicians who supported King Carol. After a harsh crackdown on the Iron Guard, the National Renaissance Front tried to bring together political groups. This was to form a national government that would support Carol's foreign policies. This was important because threats to Romania's borders were growing after World War II began. Tătărescu believed that a stronger government was good for Romania. He also thought Carol wanted to keep Romania out of the war.
Tătărescu remained Prime Minister during the "Phony War" period, until the fall of France. His government signed an economic agreement with Nazi Germany, which meant most Romanian exports went to Germany. Romania's alliances with the United Kingdom and France also fell apart. His government ended because Romania had to give up Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union. This was a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. King Carol tried to calm Germany by dissolving Tătărescu's government and replacing him with Ion Gigurtu.
During World War II
After the Second Vienna Award, when Northern Transylvania was lost to Hungary, King Carol failed to protect Romania's neutrality and its land. An Iron Guard government then took over Romania.
On November 26, 1940, the Iron Guard started violent actions against politicians who had served under King Carol. This followed an investigation into the 1938 killing of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the Iron Guard's founder. Tătărescu and Constantin Argetoianu were among those captured on November 27. They were in danger of facing severe punishment. However, they were saved by regular police forces, who had become hostile to the Guardist militias.
Tătărescu stepped away from political life during the war. At first, he seemed to support Ion Antonescu's pro-German government. His daughter, Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes, worked as an ambulance driver for the Romanian Red Cross at this time.
Eventually, Tătărescu got involved in talks to pull Romania out of the war. He began discussions with the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). He also tried to build foreign connections to help Romania after its expected defeat. He communicated with Edvard Beneš, the leader of the Czechoslovak government in exile in England. Beneš agreed to support Romania and informed the Allied governments about Tătărescu's plans.
Tătărescu's diplomatic efforts were successful after other attempts to reach an agreement with the Western Allies failed. The two main traditional parties, led by Iuliu Maniu and Dinu Brătianu, agreed to work with a group formed by the PCR, the Romanian Social Democratic Party, the Ploughmen's Front, and the Socialist Peasants' Party. This led to the creation of the National Democratic Bloc (BND) in June 1944. This group overthrew Antonescu in August through the successful King Michael Coup.
Working with the Communists
Tătărescu rejoined the PNL in 1944 after the Soviet Red Army entered Romania and the country became an Allied state. Political parties were allowed again. However, Tătărescu again disagreed with the party leaders, Dinu and Gheorghe I. Brătianu. He left to form his own group in June–July 1945. Dinu Brătianu then formally removed Tătărescu and his supporters from the PNL.
The PCR was gaining more influence with the support of the Soviet occupation, but it didn't have much popular support. So, it looked for alliances with other groups. Tătărescu declared his group to be left-wing and Social liberal. He tried to keep a balanced approach, asking for good relations with both the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. An agreement was made with the Communists, which was favored by Ana Pauker. However, another Communist leader, Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, strongly opposed it.
Tătărescu became Foreign Minister and vice president in Petru Groza's government in 1945, after Soviet pressure. His group was given leadership of four other ministries: Finance, Public Works, Industry, and Religious Affairs. He indirectly helped the PCR with an electoral fraud during the general election in 1946. He did not respond to American suggestions for fair elections. At the Paris Conference, he accepted the end of Greater Romania under the new Treaty in 1947.
1947 and Later Life
Tensions grew between Tătărescu's group and the PCR. His group formed a party called the National-Liberal Party (also known as the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu). In June–July 1945, they stated their goal was to protect private property and the middle class under the new government.
Later, Gheorghiu-Dej, a Communist leader, said that his party had to "tolerate" Tătărescu's group, calling it a "capitalist-gentry political group."
Tătărescu continued to support some PCR policies. In the summer of 1947, he criticized the United States for protesting against the government's actions against opposition groups. However, around the same time, he also criticized the Groza government. This led to strong attacks against him in the PCR press. He was then accused of negligence when, during the unfair trial of Iuliu Maniu (the Tămădău Affair), it was claimed that some of his ministry's employees had secretly planned against the government. Scînteia, the official newspaper of the PCR, wrote that all of the National Liberal Party-Tătărescu offices in the government were "rotten" and needed to be removed.
Tătărescu resigned from his position on November 6, 1947. He was replaced by the Communist Ana Pauker. For the next two months, he was pushed aside in his own party due to PCR pressure. He was removed from its leadership in January 1948. One of his last actions as a government member was to sign the document officially rejecting the Marshall Plan.
After Romania became the People's Republic of Romania on December 30, 1947, all parties other than the PCR became purely formal. After the elections of March 28, the one-party state was confirmed by law. Tătărescu was arrested on May 5, 1950. He was held in the famous Sighet prison along with three of his brothers and his former colleague Bejan. His son Tudor, who lived in Paris, suffered from a serious mental illness after 1950 and had to be admitted to a hospital, where he died in 1955. Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes, his daughter, was also imprisoned in 1950 but was released three years later.
One of Gheorghe Tătărescu's last public appearances was as a witness for the prosecution in the 1954 trial of Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu. He claimed that Pătrășcanu had secretly joined the PCR when Tătărescu was Prime Minister. Pătrășcanu was later cleared of all charges after his death. Tătărescu was released from prison in 1955. He died in Bucharest less than two years later. According to his daughter, Sanda Tătărescu Negropontes, he died from tuberculosis that he got while in prison.
Images for kids
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Greater Romania with Northern Transylvania highlighted in yellow
See also
In Spanish: Gheorghe Tătărescu para niños
