
Ştefan Golescu
'Ştefan Golescu' (
1809—
1874) was a
Wallachian
Romanian politician who served as a
Prime Minister of Romania between
26 November 1867 and
12 May 1868.
Biography
Born in a
boyar family of the
Goleşti, he studied with his brothers (
Nicolae and
Radu) in
Switzerland. After he returned, he joined the
Wallachian Army and became a
major in
1836. With his brother he also joined the Philharmonic Society, a society similar to the
Freemasonry.
Ştefan was involved in the triggering of the
1848 Wallachian revolution, participating in the
Islaz gathering of
June 9,
1848, when he became a member of the Provisional Government, serving as Minister of Justice.
During the writing of the new constitution, Ştefan Golescu supported
Nicolae Bălcescu's idea of
universal suffrage, while his brother, Nicolae, favoured less expansive participation. Ştefan was part of the delegation sent by the revolutionaries to
Istanbul to negotiate the new constitution with the
Ottoman Empire, Wallachia's
overlord.
Ştefan Golescu was a member of the Wallachian assembly that elected
Alexander John Cuza as
prince of both Wallachia and Moldavia (
1859). Afterwards, he was a member of the
Liberal Party of
Ion Brătianu and served for about half a year as Prime Minister of Romania in a Liberal government.