| Gheorghe Bibescu | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wallachia | |
 Portrait,c. 1860 | |
| Prince of Wallachia | |
| Reign | 1 January 1843 – 25 June 1848 |
| Predecessor | Alexandru II Ghica[1] |
| Successor | Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei |
| Born | 26 April 1804 Craiova,Wallachia |
| Died | 1 June 1873(1873-06-01) (aged 69) Paris,France |
| Spouse | Zoe Brâncoveanu |
| Issue | Grégoire Bibesco-Bassaraba |
| Father | Dimitrie Bibescu |
| Religion | Orthodox |
Gheorghe Bibescu (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈɡe̯orɡebiˈbesku]; 26 April 1804 – 1 June 1873) was thehospodar (prince) ofWallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with therevolutionary tide that culminated in the1848 Wallachian revolution.
Born inCraiova as the first son of Dimitrie Bibescu, a member of theBibescuboyar family, he studied Law in Paris. After his return to Wallachia, he was elected deputy in theExtraordinary Public Assembly, thelegislative forum established by theImperial Russian overseers at the end of theRusso-Turkish War of 1828–1829, representing theDolj County during thePavel Kiseleff administration. He subsequently took on different offices, including that of secretary of state.[citation needed] Before his election as hospodar, he was seen as an opponent of his predecessor,Alexandru II Ghica.[1]
On 1 January 1843, the first (and only) elections carried out in accordance with theOrganic Statute took place in Wallachia; these were carried out by a representative assembly, and had been prompted by Ghica's abuse.[2] Of many candidates, Bibescu and his older brother,Barbu Ştirbei, were the most popular choices with Imperial Russia. Bibescu was elected hospodar, supported by both theconservative boyars and the youngerliberals. One of his first gestures in office was to grantpardon toradicals who hadconspired against Ghica (includingMitică Filipescu andNicolae Bălcescu).
Bibescu did not change the government immediately after the election, as it was made up mostly of Ghica's political adversaries. However, his relations with the Public Assembly started to deteriorate due to disagreements on several legislative projects.
In the spring of 1844, the Wallachian government approved the request of the Russian engineerAlexander Trandafiloff, to be allowed to administer the country's mines (which were subject to private ownership).[3] Moreover, if any mine owner did not begin extracting from their mines within 18 months, the Russian company was to take over the administration of the mines for 12 years, by paying 10% of the income to the owner and 10% to the Wallachian state.
Bibescu approved the contract, but the Public Assembly protested against it: the deputies saw it as an intervention of theprotecting power in local politics. The contract was eventually cancelled, but, caught between the Assembly's position and the Russian authorities, on 4 March 1844, Bibescu dissolved the Public Assembly with the approval ofRussian EmperorNicholas I.[2] When elections for the body were convened in November 1846, he used several means to silence opposition, thus awarding himself a subservientlegislature.[4] A clear separation between him andRomantic nationalists occurred when he ordered the refoundation of theSaint Sava College as aFrench-language school — based on his view thatRomanian was incompatible withmodernization.[5]
Two and a half years after that, Bibescu passed laws forpublic works and public administration. In the summer of 1844, he took a long trip through the country in order to inspect the public institutions and local authorities in the major cities.
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In December 1846, he was advised by Kiseleff to call for new Public Assembly elections. The elections brought a new Assembly dominated by politicians loyal to the hospodar. With this legislature, Bibescu passed several important laws, such as a new law on theEastern Orthodox clergy, one that allowed the hospodar to approve the church budget, and a law freeing all theGypsyslaves who belonged to the church and to the public authorities.
Gheorghe Bibescu worked for better relations withMoldavia (the otherDanubian Principality under Russian supervision), and, starting 1847, the two countries established acustoms union, after an agreement withMihail Sturdza, the Moldavianhospodar.[2] This was the culmination of his attempt to remove Wallachia's traders andguilds from foreign competition (seeSudiți), first manifested in his project to increase taxes on foreign goods.[2]
Bibescu also convinced the Russian government to allow him to impose some taxes on thosemonasteries that had beendedicated to various Orthodox centers of worship outside the Danubian Principalities' territories (the ownership issue, stringent ever since the end of thePhanariote epoch, implied that church property eluded state intervention, channelling income towards places such asMount Athos; it was to be settled throughsecularization under the rule ofAlexandru Ioan Cuza).[citation needed]
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In the summer of 1848, the revolution broke out. Initially, Wallachian radicals had unsuccessfully attempted to attract Bibescu to their side. They then issued theIslaz Proclamation of 9 June 1848. On 11 June Gheorghe Bibescu accepted the proclamation; two days later heabdicated and left the country, leaving it to be ruled by a Provisoral Government which succumbed toOttoman intervention in September. In 1859, Bibescu was presented as candidate to the throne by the conservatives who opposed Wallachia's union with Moldavia.[citation needed]
He died in Paris.[citation needed]
Gheorghe Bibescu was married to Zoe Brâncoveanu, the last of theBrâncoveanu family, therefore inheriting all the titles and wealth. The marriage was unsuccessful, as Zoe became mentally ill. Bibescu entered into a conflict with the Orthodox Church, as he wanted to divorce Zoe. He eventually managed to obtain the divorce in 1845 and in September of the same year, he married Maria Văcărescu, inFocșani.
The Brâncoveanu patrimony passed on to Zoe and Gheorghe Bibescu's son,Grégoire Bibesco-Bassaraba (the father ofAnna de Noailles).
| Preceded by | Ruler of Wallachia 1842–1848 | Succeeded by |
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