Nicolae Calimachi-Catargiu


Nicolae Callimachi-Catargiu was a conservative Romanian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in two terms from November 28, 1869 to February 1, 1870 and December 18, 1870 until March 11, 1871, and as a Romanian envoy to London and Paris.

Biography

Family

His father was the logothete Ștefan Catargiu, a member of the Three-headed Kaymakam from the Principality of Moldavia, and his mother was Ruxandra Calimachi, who insisted that he bear the name of the great family from which she came.
He had three brothers, Alexandru Catargiu, and from his mother's second marriage Alecu Ruset-Rosnovanu, Adela Rosetti-Rosnovanu and Gheorghe Rosnovanu.

Education

He studied in Iași and, since 1857, in Paris. He was elected an MP in the Constituent Assembly in 1866, in which, along with other personalities such as Constantin Grădișteanu, Nicolae Gr. Racoviță, Aristid Pascal opposed to the draft of the Constitution issued by the government, which concerned individual rights and freedoms. From 1876 he became a member of the Junimea society and entered politics, being twice appointed as a Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Dimitrie Ghica cabinet and in the Third Ion Ghica cabinet.

Diplomat

In 1875 he was sent as an agent of Romania to Paris He ended his mission in London in 1881. The reason for the end of the mission was the irritation of the British government due to the disclosure of some secrets of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by M. Callimaki Catargi, materialized by the unauthorized publication of fragments of diplomatic correspondence between Romania and other powers, which harmed Austria's interests revealing the objectives and policy pursued by Brătianu regarding the Danube issue. The publication of diplomatic telegrams by Nicolae Calimachi-Catargiu was followed by an interpellation both in the Romanian Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies, requesting his sending to court according to art. 305 of the Penal Code. The proposal was put to the vote. In the same year he was sent back on a mission to Paris. During this time, he wrote the bilingual work "Appendice au livre vert roumain sur la question du Danube" / "Appendix to the Romanian Green Paper on the Danube Question", which he published in 1881 in Paris, impr. de Chaix, under the signature of N. Callimaki-Catargi.