CEL DINTÂI GUVERN AL PRINCIPELUI STRĂIN (11/23 MAI – 13/25 IULIE 1866): SINTEZE, NOTE, RECONSIDERĂRI
THE FIRST GOVERNMENT OF THE FOREIGN PRINCE (11/23 MAY – 13/25 JULY 1866): SYNTHESES, NOTES, REVALUATIONS

Summary/Abstract: The first government of the reign of Carol I was led by the conservative Lascăr Catargiu. Politically, it was a continuation of the coalition between the conservatives, radicals and moderates around Ion Ghica, that had governed the Romanian state after the coup of 11/23 February 1866. The foreign policy of the cabinet revolved around the attempt to convince the Suzerain Power (Turkey) and the European Guarantor Powers to accept the new state of affairs in the Romanian Principalities. Its domestic policy was, on the other hand, dominated by the debates around the project of the new Romanian Constitution, the financial situation, the “Jewish question”, the state of things in the former capital of the Moldavian Principality (Iași) or the cholera epidemic. The Constitution was adopted during the administration of Catargiu. However, the settlement of other issues was delayed; some of them, like the problem of the compensations promised to the city of Iași, were never fully solved. The authority of the prime minister was limited by the character of his government (a coalition between very different political factions) and by the lack of stability in the public administration. The development of the “Jewish question” or the result of the debate regarding the Iași compensations were serious political defeats for Catargiu. Nevertheless, the former prime minister kept his prestige among conservatives: almost five years later, he returned to power, leading a much more enduring and politically successful government.

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