Mihail Kogălniceanu (Romanian pronunciation: [mihaˈil
koɡəlniˈtʃe̯anu] (listen); also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu,
Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 â€" July 1, 1891) was a
Moldavian, later Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and
publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863,
after the 1859 union of the Danubian Principalities under Domnitor
Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and later served as Foreign Minister under Carol
I. He was several times Interior Minister under Cuza and Carol. A
polymath, Kogălniceanu was one of the most influential Romanian
intellectuals of his generation. Siding with the moderate liberal
current for most of his lifetime, he began his political career as a
collaborator of Prince Mihail Sturdza, while serving as head of the
Iași Theater and issuing several publications together with the poet
Vasile Alecsandri and the activist Ion Ghica. After editing the highly
influential magazine Dacia Literară and serving as a professor at
Academia Mihăileană, Kogălniceanu came into conflict with the
authorities over his Romantic nationalist inaugural speech of 1843. He
was the ideologue of the abortive 1848 Moldavian revolution, authoring
its main document, Dorințele partidei naționale din
Moldova.Following the Crimean War (1853â€"1856), with Prince Grigore
Alexandru Ghica, Kogălniceanu was responsible for drafting
legislation to abolish Roma slavery. Together with Alecsandri, he
edited the unionist magazine Steaua Dunării, played a prominent part
during the elections for the ad hoc Divan, and successfully promoted
Cuza, his lifelong friend, to the throne. Kogălniceanu advanced
legislation to revoke traditional ranks and titles, and to secularize
the property of monasteries. His efforts at land reform resulted in a
censure vote, leading Cuza to enforce them through a coup d'état in
May 1864. However, Kogălniceanu resigned in 1865, following his own
conflicts with the monarch.A decade after, he helped create the
National Liberal Party, before playing an important part in Romania's
decision to enter the Russo-Turkish War of 1877â€"1878â€"a choice
which consecrated her independence. He was also instrumental in the
acquisition, and later colonization, of Northern Dobruja region.
During his final years, he was a prominent member and one-time
President of the Romanian Academy, and briefly served as Romanian
representative to France.
koɡəlniˈtʃe̯anu] (listen); also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu,
Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 â€" July 1, 1891) was a
Moldavian, later Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and
publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863,
after the 1859 union of the Danubian Principalities under Domnitor
Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and later served as Foreign Minister under Carol
I. He was several times Interior Minister under Cuza and Carol. A
polymath, Kogălniceanu was one of the most influential Romanian
intellectuals of his generation. Siding with the moderate liberal
current for most of his lifetime, he began his political career as a
collaborator of Prince Mihail Sturdza, while serving as head of the
Iași Theater and issuing several publications together with the poet
Vasile Alecsandri and the activist Ion Ghica. After editing the highly
influential magazine Dacia Literară and serving as a professor at
Academia Mihăileană, Kogălniceanu came into conflict with the
authorities over his Romantic nationalist inaugural speech of 1843. He
was the ideologue of the abortive 1848 Moldavian revolution, authoring
its main document, Dorințele partidei naționale din
Moldova.Following the Crimean War (1853â€"1856), with Prince Grigore
Alexandru Ghica, Kogălniceanu was responsible for drafting
legislation to abolish Roma slavery. Together with Alecsandri, he
edited the unionist magazine Steaua Dunării, played a prominent part
during the elections for the ad hoc Divan, and successfully promoted
Cuza, his lifelong friend, to the throne. Kogălniceanu advanced
legislation to revoke traditional ranks and titles, and to secularize
the property of monasteries. His efforts at land reform resulted in a
censure vote, leading Cuza to enforce them through a coup d'état in
May 1864. However, Kogălniceanu resigned in 1865, following his own
conflicts with the monarch.A decade after, he helped create the
National Liberal Party, before playing an important part in Romania's
decision to enter the Russo-Turkish War of 1877â€"1878â€"a choice
which consecrated her independence. He was also instrumental in the
acquisition, and later colonization, of Northern Dobruja region.
During his final years, he was a prominent member and one-time
President of the Romanian Academy, and briefly served as Romanian
representative to France.
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