Emanoil Catelli was born on January 25, 1883, into a peasant's family from the village of Zgărdeşti, Bălți County. He was the second child of twelve in the family of Grigore and Anastasia Catelli. From 1891 to 1895, he studied at the primary school. Three years later he was admitted to the Lower Agricultural School in Cucuruzeni, and graduated it in 1901. By 1903, Emanoil Catelli worked as a mechanic for agricultural machinery. In September 1903, he was enrolled in the Tsarist army as a second-class military. In little over one year later he entered the Junkers School, where he was taught until August 1907. He completed his studies as a non-commissioned officer. In 1910, he became a lieutenant, and in 1914, he received the rank of master captain and in 1917, he became a captain. In April 1917, he was sent to Odessa for office work, where he was stay at the beginning of the October Revolution. From the first days of his stay in Odessa, he stirred up feeling among Moldovans, explaining the need for Bassarabia to become autonomous. In addition, in that year he became the chairperson of the Moldovan National Committee in Odessa. He actively participated in establishing the "Sfatul Țării", being among the most devoted militants for the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. After unification, Emanoil Catelli was appointed as General Director of Agriculture in the General Directorate of the Moldovan Democratic Republic. He occupied this position until November 1918, when the Directorate was dissolved. From 1919 by 1923, Catelli served as a popular judge in Năduşita, Soroca County. In 1920, he became a member of the National Liberal Party, which was in power. In 1923, the Council of Ministers of Romania appointed him as prefect of Bălți County. Catelli was the prefect for one year and four months. From 1927 to 1928, he was elected and became the senator delegated by the Balti County. In 1933, the NationalLiberal Party came back to power again and Emanoil Catelli became the prefect of Balti County. In the three-year period when he was the prefect of Balti County, 49 schools were built, the Normal School was renovated and the new building of "Domniţa Ileana" High School was built. He occupied this position up to December 29, 1937, once the royal dictatorship was established. Of all the prefects of the county, Emanoil Catelli was the most representative personality. On July 5, 1940, Emanoil Catelli was arrested by the operative group of NKVD, forces of Bălți for the anti-revolutionary activity, and on 6 August he was transferred to the Chișinău prison. The NKVD group was afraid of his escape and they proceeded, as usual, in a secretive manner. First, they arrested him and then carried out all the proceedings. An arrest warrant did not exist because there were not enough forms. With the beginning of military operations for the liberation of Bessarabia from Romania, Emanoil Catelli was transferred deep inside the Soviet Empire, reaching Tatarstan. Thus, in 1942 Catelli was brought to Kazan. During the interrogations, Emanoil Catelli said that he did not regret the actions he had taken earlier, and that he would always resist Bolshevism.
Family
He was married to Paraschiva Valuţă and had two children, Victor and Octavian, both lawyers.
Death
He died on February 18, 1943, in the ITK No.5 in Sviyazhsk, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The doctors stated that the death occurred because of myocardial decompensation, but it is unlikely that the cause of death was established by doctors in the camp.
