Constantin Titel Petrescu | |
|---|---|
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| Minister Secretary of State | |
| In office 23 August 1944 – 3 November 1944 | |
| Prime Minister | Constantin Sănătescu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1888-02-05)February 5, 1888 |
| Died | September 2, 1957(1957-09-02) (aged 69) |
| Resting place | Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest |
| Political party | Romanian Social Democratic Party Independent Social-Democratic Party |
| Education | Saint Sava College |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Constantin Titel Petrescu (5 February 1888 – 2 September 1957) was aRomanian politician and lawyer. He was the leader of theRomanian Social Democratic Party.
He was born inCraiova, the son of an employee of theNational Bank inBucharest. After completing high school atSaint Sava College in 1903, he studied Philosophy and Law at theUniversity of Bucharest, earning aJ.D. degree. After auditing some penal law courses atSorbonne University inParis, he returned to Bucharest and registered in 1911 with theIlfov County Bar as adefense lawyer. He defended before the Ilfov Court socialist militantAlexandru Nicolau, who was eventually acquitted by the jury.[1][2]
In 1923, Petrescu stood trial for alleged insults addressed to theRomanian Army; with the help of a defense team that includedDem I. Dobrescu, he was acquitted. That same year, he joinedConstantin Rădulescu-Motru,Virgil Madgearu,Constantin Costa-Foru,Victor Eftimiu,Grigore Iunian,Radu D. Rosetti, Dem Dobrescu,Nicolae L. Lupu, andConstantin Mille, in creatingLiga Drepturilor Omului (the League forHuman Rights), protesting against measures taken by theNational Liberal cabinet ofIon I. C. Brătianu in dealing with left-wing opposition forces.
Petrescu was actively involved in the preparations for theAugust 1944 coup d'état organized byKingMichael I, which led to the fall ofConducătorMarshalIon Antonescu. He was then appointed Minister Secretary of State without portfolio in thefirst cabinet ofConstantin Sănătescu. AfterWorld War II, relations between theSocial Democratic Party (PSD) and theRomanian Communist Party (PCR) deteriorated, and Petrescu refused the electoral alliance with the PCR in 1946. Instead, he established his own political movement, theIndependent Social-Democratic Party (PSDI), with which he participated in theelections of November 1946.[3]
After the establishment of thecommunist regime, Petrescu was arrested on 6 May 1948. Detained atJilava,Sighet, andRâmnicu Sărat prisons, he was liberated after 7 years in December 1955, after theUnited KingdomLabour Party had interceded withNikita Khrushchev.[4] He spent the rest of his life in hospital, suffering fromscurvy andtuberculosis, a result of the harsh treatment he endured while in prison. He is buried atBellu Cemetery, in Bucharest.[3]
Streets in theGhencea district of Bucharest and inTimișoara are named after him.
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