Petre Mavrogheni, diplomatul gentilom
Petre Mavrogheni, the Gentlemanly Diplomat

Summary/Abstract: Born in Iaşi, the 16th of November 1818, as the son of Petre Mavrogheni and Ruxandra Sturdza, Petre Mavrogheni was the descendant of an old Greek family (Nicolae Mavrogheni was the reigning prince of Wallachia, between 1786 and 1790) and related to several Romanian dinasties and aristocratic families (Sturdza, Callimachi, Ghica). He grew up in an aristocratic atmosphere, receiving a French education and he studied in Paris. During his uncle Mihai Grigore Sturdza’s and Grigore Alexandru Ghica’s reigns in Moldavia, Petre Mavrogheni occupied different administrative and governmental positions (minister for Public Works in 1852, for Foreign Affairs in 1853 and for Finance in 1854), he worked for the modernization of the roads and wrote, together with M. Kogălniceanu, the decree for the liberation of Gypsy slaves belonging to families or individuals. A supporter of the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, he was even a candidate for the Throne of the United Principalities, occupied in the end by Alexandru Ioan Cuza. After the dethronement of Cuza, Mavrogheni was one of the closest advisors of the reigning prince and later king Charles I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was appointed, in different conservative governments, as minister for Foreign Affairs and for Finance. Between 1871 and 1875, as the minister for Finance, Petre Mavrogheni carried out a series of financial reforms and he succeeded in stabilizing Romanian finances. Having a true vocation for diplomacy, Petre Mavrogheni was sent as Romania’s Minister Plenipotentiary in Rome, Constantinople (where he successfully mediated, thanks to his family connections and personal ability, the conflict between the Ecumenical Patriarchy of Constantinople and the Romanian Orthodox Church and he obtained the official recognition of the autocephalous Romanian Church) and Vienna, where he died, the 20th of April 1887. Petre Mavrogheni was a true aristocrat, descendant of several reigning dinasties, well educated, intelligent and refined, a founder member of the Conservative party, but at the same time a strong supporter of the modernization process, the best Romanian finances expert of the time, the author of essential financial reforms, a defender of peasants’ rights and a high official full of integrity. He was a gentleman and, therefore, a fine diplomat of the 19th century, the perfect time for gentlemen diplomats.

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