Gheorghe Tătărescu | |
|---|---|
 Tătărescu,c.1940s | |
| 36th Prime Minister of Romania | |
| In office 25 November 1939 – 4 July 1940 | |
| Monarch | Carol II |
| Preceded by | Constantin Argetoianu |
| Succeeded by | Ion Gigurtu |
| In office 3 January 1934 – 28 December 1937 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Monarch | Carol II |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 6 March 1945 – 29 December 1947 | |
| Prime Minister | Petru Groza |
| Preceded by | Constantin Vișoianu |
| Succeeded by | Ana Pauker |
| In office 11 February 1938 – 29 March 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Miron Cristea |
| Preceded by | Istrate Micescu |
| Succeeded by | Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen |
| In office 2 October 1934 – 9 October 1934 | |
| Preceded by | Nicolae Titulescu |
| Succeeded by | Nicolae Titulescu |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 25 November 1939 – 30 November 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Nicolae Ottescu |
| Succeeded by | Mihail Ghelmegeanu |
| In office 23 February 1937 – 14 November 1937 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Dumitru Iuca |
| Succeeded by | Richard Franasovici |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1886-11-02)2 November 1886 |
| Died | 28 March 1957(1957-03-28) (aged 70) |
| Political party | National Liberal Party National Renaissance Front National Liberal Party-Tătărescu |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (also known asGuță Tătărescu, with a slightly antiquated pet form of his given name; 2 November 1886 – 28 March 1957) was aRomanian politician who served twice asPrime Minister of Romania (1934–1937; 1939–1940), three times asMinister of Foreign Affairs (interim in 1934 and 1938, appointed to the office in 1945-1947) and once asMinister of War (1934). Representing the "young liberals" faction inside theNational Liberal Party (PNL), Tătărescu began his political career as a collaborator ofIon G. Duca, becoming noted for hisanticommunism and, in time, for his conflicts with the PNL's leaderDinu Brătianu and the Foreign MinisterNicolae Titulescu. During his first time in office, he moved closer to KingCarol II and led an ambivalent policy toward thefascistIron Guard and ultimately becoming instrumental in establishing theauthoritarian andcorporatist regime around theNational Renaissance Front. In 1940, he accepted thecession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to theSoviet Union and had to resign.
After the start ofWorld War II, Gheorghe Tătărescu initiated a move to rally political forces in opposition toIon Antonescu's dictatorship, and sought an alliance with theRomanian Communist Party (PCR). He was twice expelled from the PNL, in 1938 and 1944, creating instead his own group, theNational Liberal Party-Tătărescu, and representing it inside the communist-endorsedPetru Groza cabinet. In 1946-1947, he was also the President of the Romanian Delegation to thePeace Conference inParis. Then, relations between Tătărescu and the PCR began to sour, and he was replaced from the leadership of both his own party and the Foreign Ministry when his name was implicated in theTămădău Affair. Following theCommunist takeover, he was arrested and held as apolitical prisoner while being called to testify in the trial ofLucrețiu Pătrășcanu. He died soon after his release from prison.
Elected an honorarymember of the Romanian Academy in 1937, he was removed from his seat by the communist authorities in 1948.[1] One of his brothers, Colonel Ștefan Tătărescu, was at some point the leader of a minorNazi group, theNational Socialist Party.
Born inTârgu Jiu, Tătărescu studied atCarol I High School inCraiova. He later went to France, where he was awarded adoctorate from theUniversity of Paris in 1912, with a thesis on the Romanianparliamentary system (Le régime électoral et parlementaire en Roumanie).[1] He subsequently worked as alawyer inBucharest. He fathered a son, Tudor, and a daughter, Sanda (married to the lawyer Ulise Negropontes in 1940).[2]
After joining theNational Liberal Party (PNL), he was elected to theChamber of Deputies for the first time in November 1919, representingGorj County.[3] Among his first notable actions as a politician was an initiative to interpellateNicolae L. Lupu, theMinister of Interior Affairs Ministry in theRomanian National Party-Peasants' Party cabinet in answer to concerns that the executive was toleratingsocialist agitation in the countryside.[4]
He stood among the PNL's "young liberals" faction, as they were colloquially known, supportingfree trade and a more authoritarian rule over the country around KingCarol II, and opposing both the older generation of leaders (who tended to advocateprotectionism and aliberal democracy) and the dissident group ofGheorghe I. Brătianu (seeNational Liberal Party-Brătianu).[5]
The Undersecretary in the Interior Affairs Ministry under several PNL cabinets (beginning with that ofIon I. C. Brătianu in 1922–1926), he first became noted as a collaborator ofIon G. Duca. In 1924–1936, in contrast to his agenda afterWorld War II agenda, Tătărescu was a notedanticommunist, and reacted vehemently against theRomanian Communist Party (PCdR, later PCR),[6] recommending and obtaining its outlawing, based on communist adversity to the concept ofGreater Romania, and notably arguing that theComintern-supportedTatarbunary Uprising was evidence of "imperialistcommunism".[7]
Tătărescu became leader of the cabinet in January 1934, as thefascistIron Guard had assassinated Prime Minister Duca on 30 December 1933 (the five-day premiership ofConstantin Anghelescu ensured transition between the two governments). His was the second PNL cabinet formed during Carol's reign, and the latter's failure to draw support from the mainstream group led to a tight connection being established between Carol and the young liberals, with Tătărescu backing the process leading to the creation of a royaldictatorship.[8] One of Tătărescu's first measures was a decisive move to end the conflict between the National Liberal executive and theMayor of Bucharest,Dem I. Dobrescu (who was backed by theNational Peasants' Party)—making use of his prerogative, he removed Dobrescu from office on 18 January.[9]
The brief period constituted a reference point inRomanian economy, as the emergence from theGreat Depression, although marked by endemic problems, saw prosperity more widespread than ever before.[10] This was, in part, the contribution of new economic relations which Tătărescu defended and encouraged: the state transformed itself into the main agent of economic activities, allowing for prosperous businesses to benefit from its demands, and, in time, leading to the creation of acamarilla dominated by the figures of industrialists such asAristide Blank,Nicolae Malaxa, andMax Auschnitt.[11] In this context, Tătărescu's allegedly subservient position in front of Carol was a frequent topic of ridicule at the time.[12] According to a hostile account of thesocialistPetre Pandrea:
"Tătărescu was ceremonious in order to cover his menial nature. When he was leaving audiences [with the King], he pressed forward on the small of his back and returnedfacing backwards from the desk to the door, not daring to show his back. [...] Watching over the scene [...], Carol II exclaimed to his intimate assistants:
— I don't have a big enough tooshie for all the politicians to kiss!"[13]
Among other services rendered, he intervened in the conflict between Carol and his brother,Prince Nicholas, asking the latter to renounce either his marriage to Ioana Dumitrescu-Doletti—considered amisalliance by Carol, it had not been recognized by Romanian authorities—or his princely prerogatives.[14] Nicholas chose the latter alternative in 1937.[14]
Inside his party, Tătărescu lost ground toDinu Brătianu, elected by the traditionalLiberal elite as a compromise in order to ensure unity; upon his election in 1934, the latter stated:
"This time as well, I would have gladly conceded, if I were to believe that anyone else in the party could gather voter unanimity."[15]
The issue remained debated for the following two years. The party congress of July 1936 eventually elected Tătărescu to the second position in the party, that of general secretary.[16]
In his foreign policy, Prime Minister Tătărescu balanced two different priorities, attempting to strengthen thetraditional military alliance withPoland which was aimed at theSoviet Union, and reacting against the growing regional influence ofNazi Germany by maintaining the relevancy of theLittle Entente and establishing further contacts with the Soviets.
In August 1936, he removedNicolae Titulescu from the office of foreign minister, replacing him withVictor Antonescu. This caused an uproar, with most of Romania'sdiplomatic corps voicing their dissatisfaction. Over the following months, virtually all of Titulescu's supporters were themselves recalled (including, among others,Constantin Vișoianu, the ambassador to Poland,Constantin Antoniade, Romania's representative to theLeague of Nations,Dimitrie Ghyka, the ambassador toBelgium, andCaius Brediceanu, the ambassador toAustria) while Titulescu's adversaries, such asAntoine Bibesco, were returned to office.[17] Bibesco subsequently campaigned in France and the United Kingdom, in an attempt to reassure Romania's main allies that the move did not signify a change in Romania's priorities.[18] Tătărescu was later blamed by his own party for having renounced the diplomatic course on which Romania had engaged.[19]
In early 1937, Tătărescu rejected the proposal ofJózef Beck,Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, to withdraw Romania's support forCzechoslovakia and attempt a reconciliation withHungary (the following year, Romania withdrew its support for the former, indicating, just before theMunich Agreement, that it was not in a position to guarantee Czechoslovakia's frontiers).[20] This was accompanied by Czechoslovak initiatives to establish close contacts between the Little Entente and the Soviets: a scandal erupted in the same year, when the country's ambassador to Romania,Jan Šeba, published a volume calling for Soviet-Entente military cooperation (despite the Soviet-Romanian conflict overBessarabia) and expressing the hope that the Soviet state would extend its borders intoWest Belarus andUkraine.[21]Kamil Krofta, Czechoslovakia's foreign minister, received criticism for having prefaced the book, and, after Tătărescu paid a visit toCzechoslovak Prime MinisterMilan Hodža, Šeba was recalled toPrague.[21]
In combating the Iron Guard, Tătărescu chose to relax virtually all pressures on the latter (while mimicking some of its messages), and instead concentrated again on curbing the activities of theRomanian Communist Party (PCR) and outlawing itsPopular Front-type organizations (seeAmicii URSS).[22]
In April 1936, he and theMinister of the InteriorIon Inculeț allowed a youth congress to gather inTârgu Mureș, aware of the fact that it was masking a fascist gathering; delegates to the congress, traveling in a special train commissioned by the government, vandalizedIon Duca's memorial plate inSinaia train station, and, upon their arrival in Târgu Mureș, made public their violentantisemitic agenda.[23] It was probably there thatdeath squads were designated and assigned missions, leading to the murder ofMihai Stelescu, a former associate, in June of the next year.[24]
In February 1937, an intense publicity campaign by the Guard, begun withthe ostentatious funerals ofIon Moța andVasile Marin (killed in theSpanish Civil War) and culminating in the physical assaulting ofTraian Bratu,rector of theUniversity of Iași, by Guardist students, provoked the premier's order to close down universities throughout the country.[25]
Later in that year, the collaboration between monarch and premier, coupled with the fact that Tătărescu had successfully attractednationalist votes from the Iron Guard, led to the signing of an electoral agreement between the latter, theNational Peasants' Party (the main democratic opposition group), and theNational Liberal Party-Brătianu—the pact was meant to prevent all attempt by Carol to manipulate the votes in elections.[26] (A secondary and unexpected development was that the illegal PCR, which had decided to back the National Peasants' Party prior to the elections, eventually supported the electoral pact.)[27] Tătărescu's own alliance policy rose the anger of his opponents inside the PNL, as he signed collaboration agreements with the fascistRomanian Front andGerman Party.[16]
The1937 elections led to an unprecedented situation: although the PNL and Tătărescu had gained the largest percentage of the vote (almost 36%), they fell short of being awardedmajority bonus (granted at 40% of the vote).[28] As thefar right had gathered momentum (the Guard, running under the name of "Everything for the Fatherland Party", had obtained 15.6% of the vote),[29] Carol was faced with the threat of an Iron Guard government, which would have been one deeply opposed to all of his political principles: he called on a third party,Octavian Goga'sNational Christian Party (coming from the antisemitic far right but deeply opposed to the Guard) to form a new cabinet in December of that year.[30]
Consequently, Tătărescu renounced his offices inside the party, and, while keeping his office of general secretary, he was surpassed by the readmittedGheorghe I. Brătianu — who was elected to the new office of PNL vice president on 10 January 1938.[16] After the failure of Goga's policies to curb the rise of their competitors, the king, backed by Tătărescu, resorted to dissolving all political parties on 30 May 1938, creating instead theNational Renaissance Front.[31]
As prime minister, Tătărescu showed particular concern for the modernization of theRomanian Armed Forces. Almost immediately after becoming prime minister, he established the Ministry of Armaments,chaired by himself. This ministry lasted for over three years before being dissolved on 23 February 1937, during histhird cabinet.
Under Tătărăscu's premiership, Romania launched a ten-year rearmament program on 27 April 1935. Under this program, Romania acquired 248Škoda 100 mmhowitzers (delivered in the mid-1930s) and 180 Škoda150 mm howitzers (delivered between 1936 and 1939). In 1936, Romania ordered 126LT vz 35 tanks and 35R-1 tankettes. These acquisitions fromCzechoslovakia were followed in 1937 by 12Focke-Wulf Fw 58 aircraft, ordered fromGermany and delivered between April and June that same year. Romania employed German technicians to builda shipyard atGalați using materials supplied by theReșița works. There, two submarines would be built between 1938 and 1943, amongothers (Marsuinul andRechinul).[32] The resumed and much improved trade relations with Škoda, following the disastrous "Škoda Affair" of the early 1930s, were credited to the energy and ability of Tătărăscu, "the soldier-politician who reversed the usual order in Romanian politics by placing the welfare of the country superior to the lust for graft".[33] It is worth noting, however, that of the 35 tankettes and 126 tanks ordered during Tătărescu's premiership, only 10 of the former and 15 of the latter actually arrived in Romania before the end of his mandate at the end of 1937. Both of these orders were delivered in full during late 1938 and early 1939, respectively.[34] In 1936, Romania also started producing thePolishPZL P.11 fighter aircraft, of which 95 were ultimately built byIAR.[35] In 1937, Romanian production of the improvedPZL P.24 also commenced, with 25 fighters being built until 1939.[36]
In this context, Tătărescu chose to back the regime, as the PNL, like the National Peasants' Party, remained active in nominal clandestinity (as the law banning it had never been enforced any further).[37] Having personally signed the document banning opposition parties, he was expelled from the PNL in April 1938, and contested the legitimacy of the action for the following years.[38] Allegedly, his ousting was recommended byIuliu Maniu, leader of the National Peasants' Party's and, for the following years, the closest of Dinu Brătianu's political allies.[38]
Soon after his second arrival to power, Tătărescu became noted for the enthusiastic support he gave to themodernist sculptorConstantin Brâncuși, and directed state funds to finance the building of Brâncuși'sThe Endless Column complex inTârgu Jiu (completed in October 1938).[1]
AlongsideAlexandru Vaida-Voevod andConstantin Argetoianu (whom he succeeded as Premier), Tătărescu became a dominant figure in the group of maverick pro-Carol politicians.[39] After a bloody crackdown on the Iron Guard, the Front attempted to reunite political forces in anational government that was to back Carol's foreign policies in view of increasing threats on Romania's borders after the outbreak ofWorld War II. In 1945, Tătărescu stressed his belief thatauthoritarianism benefited Romania, and supported the view that Carol had meant to keep Romania out of the war.[40] Tătărescu's second cabinet was meant to reflect the latter policies, but it did not draw any support from traditional parties,[41] and, in April 1940, Carol, assisted byErnest Urdăreanu andMihail Ghelmegeanu, began talks with the (by then much weaker) Iron Guard.[42]
Tătărescu remained in office throughout the rest of thePhony War, until thefall of France, and his cabinet signed an economic agreement withNazi Germany (through which virtually all Romanian exports were directed towards the latter country)[43] and saw the crumbling of Romania's alliance with the United Kingdom and France.[44] The cabinet was brought down by thecession of Bessarabia andNorthern Bukovina to the Soviet Union (effects of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact), as well as by Carol's attempt to appease German hostility by dissolving it, replacing Tătărescu withIon Gigurtu, and recreating the Front as thetotalitarianParty of the Nation.[45]
After theSecond Vienna Award (whenNorthern Transylvania was lost to Hungary, confirming Carol's failure to preserve both the country's neutrality and its territorial integrity), Romania was taken over by an Iron Guard dictatorial government (theNational Legionary State). Speaking five years later,Dinu Brătianu placed the blame for the serious developments on Tătărescu's own actions, addressing him directly:
"I remind you: [...] you have contributed directly, in 1940, in steering the country towards a foreign policy that, as one could tell even then, was to prove ill-fated and which led us to the loathsome Vienna settlement, one which you have supported inside theCrown Council [...]."[46]
On 26 November 1940, the Iron Guard began abloody retaliation against various political figures who had served under Carol (following a late investigation into the 1938 killing ofCorneliu Zelea Codreanu, the movement's founder and early leader, by Carol's authorities). Tătărescu andConstantin Argetoianu were among the second wave of captured politicians (on 27 November), and were destined for arbitrary execution; they were, however, saved by the intervention ofregular police forces, most of whom had grown hostile to the Guardistmilitias.[47]
Retired from political life during the war, he was initially sympathetic toIon Antonescu's pro-German dictatorship (seeRomania during World War II)—Dinu Brătianu, who remained in opposition to the Antonescu regime, made mention an official visit to Bessarabia, recovered after the start ofOperation Barbarossa, when Tătărescu had accompanied Antonescu, "thus making common cause with his warmongering action".[46] At the time, his daughter Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes worked as anambulance driver for theRomanian Red Cross.[2]
In the end, Tătărescu became involved in negotiations aimed at withdrawing Romania from the conflict, and, while beginning talks with theRomanian Communist Party (PCR), tried to build foreign connections to support Romania's cause following the inevitable defeat; he thus corresponded withEdvard Beneš, leader of theCzechoslovakgovernment in exile in England.[48] Beneš, who had already been discussing matters involving Romania withRichard Franasovici andGrigore Gafencu, and had agreed to support the Romanian cause, informed theAllied governments of Tătărescu's designs.[48]
Tătărescu later contrasted his diplomatic approach with the strategy ofBarbu Știrbey (who had only attempted an agreement with theWestern Allies inCairo, instead of opening relations with the Soviets).[40] Initially meeting with the refusal ofIuliu Maniu and Dinu Brătianu (who decided to invest their trust in Știrbey), he was relatively successful after the Cairo initiative proved fruitless: the two traditional parties accepted collaboration with the bloc formed by the PCR, theRomanian Social Democratic Party, thePloughmen's Front, and theSocialist Peasants' Party, leading to the formation of the short-lived and unstableNational Democratic Bloc (BND) in June 1944.[48] It overthrew Antonescu in August, by means of the successfulKing Michael Coup.
Tătărescu returned to the PNL later in 1944—after the SovietRed Army had entered Romania and the country had become an Allied state, political parties were again allowed to register. Nevertheless, Tătărescu was again opposed to the party leaders Dinu andGheorghe I. Brătianu, and split to form his own group in June–July 1945.[49] Dinu Brătianu convened the PNL leadership and formally excluded Tătărescu and his partisans, citing their support for dictatorial regimes.[19]
As the PCR, which was growing more influential (with the backing ofSoviet occupation) while generally lacking popular appeal, sought to form alliances with various forces in order to increase its backing, Tătărescu declared his group to beleft-wing andSocial liberal, while attempting to preserve a middle course in the new political setting, by pleading for close relations to be maintained with both the Soviet Union and the Western Allies.[50]N. D. Cocea, a prominent socialist who had joined the PNL, represented the faction in talks for an alliance with the Communists.[51] The agreement, favored byAna Pauker, was vehemently opposed by another member of the Communist leadership,Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, who argued in favor of "making a distinction inside thebourgeoisie",[52] and collaborating with the main PNL, while calling Tătărescu's faction "a gang ofcon artists,blackmailers, and well-knownbribers".[53]
Tătărescu became Foreign Minister and vice president of the government in the cabinet ofPetru Groza when the latter came into office after Soviet pressures in 1945; his faction had been awarded leadership of four other ministries—Finance, with three successive office-holders (of whom the last wasAlexandru Alexandrini), Public Works, withGheorghe Vântu,[54] Industry (withPetre N. Bejan), and Religious Affairs, withRadu Roșculeț. He indirectly helped the PCR carry out anelectoral fraud during thegeneral election in 1946 by failing to reply to American proposals for organizing fair elections.[55] At theParis Conference,[56] where he was accompanied by the PCR leadersGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Pătrășcanu, he acknowledged the dissolution ofGreater Romania under the provisions of the new Treaty (1947).[57]
Tensions between his group with the PCR occurred when the former founded itself as a party under the name ofNational-Liberal Party (commonly known as theNational Liberal Party-Tătărescu), and, in June–July 1945, proclaimed its goal to be the preservation of property and amiddle class under a new regime.[58] Of himself and his principles, Tătărescu stated:
"I am not acommunist. Taking in view my attitudes towards mankind, society, property, I am not a communist. Thus, the new orientation in external politics which I demand for my country cannot be accused of being determined by affinities or sympathies of doctrine."[59]
Speaking in retrospect, Gheorghiu-Dej indicated the actual relation between his party and Tătărescu's: "we have had to tolerate by our side acapitalist-gentry political group, Tătărescu's group".[60]
Tătărescu himself continued to show his support for several PCR policies: in the summer of 1947, he condemned the United States for having protested against the repression of forces in the opposition.[61] Nevertheless, at around the same time, he issued his own critique of the Groza government, becoming the target of violent attacks initiated byMiron Constantinescu in the PCR press.[62] Consequently, he was singled out for negligence in office when, during thekangaroo trial ofIuliu Maniu (seeTămădău Affair), it was alleged that several employees of his ministry hadconspired against the government.[63]Scînteia, the official voice of the PCR, wrote of all National Liberal Party-Tătărescu offices in the government: "The rot is all-encompassing! It has to be removed!".[64]
Tătărescu resigned his office on 6 November 1947, and was replaced by the CommunistAna Pauker. For the following two months, he was sidelined in his own party by PCR pressures,[65] and removed from its leadership in January 1948 (being replaced withPetre N. Bejan—the party was subsequently known asNational Liberal Party-Petre N. Bejan).[66] One of his last actions as cabinet member had been to sign the document officially rejecting theMarshall Plan.[67]
After the proclamation of thePeople's Republic of Romania on 30 December 1947, the existence of all parties other than the PCR had become purely formal, and, after the elections of 28 March theone-party state was confirmed by legislation.[68] He was arrested on 5 May 1950, and held in the notoriousSighet Prison,[69] alongside three of his brothers—Ștefan Tătărescu included—and his former collaborator Bejan.[70] His son Tudor, who was living in Paris, suffered fromschizophrenia after 1950, and had to be committed to an institution (where he died in 1955).[2] Sandra Tătărescu Negropontes was also imprisoned in 1950, and released three years later, upon the death ofJoseph Stalin.[2]
One of Gheorghe Tătărescu's last appearances in public was his stand as one of the prosecution's witnesses in the 1954 trial ofLucrețiu Pătrășcanu, when he claimed that the defendant had been infiltrated into the PCR during the time when he had been premier (Pătrășcanu was posthumously cleared of all charges).[71] Released in 1955, Tătărescu died inBucharest, less than two years later.[72] According to Sanda Tătărescu Negropontes, this came as a result oftuberculosis contracted while in detention.[2]
