- Ioan Manu
Ioan M. Manu, also known as Iancu Manu (
1803 -November 29 O.S., 1874), was aRomania nboyar and politician.Biography
He was the son of
Mihail G. Manu , born into a family of Venetian origins that had moved fromIstanbul toWallachia in the mid-1700s, where it was one of the noble families ofPhanariotes . Ioan Manu studied at home and then at the Romanian school ofIon Heliade Rădulescu ,Simeon Marcovici and others.During the rule of
Imperial Russia n governorPavel Kiselyov ("seeRegulamentul Organic "), he was aprefect ofGalaţi , then a prefect ofGiurgiu and in 1833, he settled in the capitalBucharest , holding several offices in succession: a "Vornic " during the reign of PrinceAlexandru II Ghica , a secretary of the National Assembly, and an "Aga" (prefect of police) during the reign ofGheorghe Bibescu (when he organized the firstFirefighter s' Corps in Wallachia). In exchange for his leadership during a great fire in 1847 ("seeHistory of Bucharest "), Manu was awarded a "sword of honour" by the city.During the
1848 Wallachian Revolution , he fled the country, returning after some time, but staying out of politics for a while. He later became a "Postelnic " (Foreign Minister) during the reign ofBarbu Dimitrie Ştirbei . In his political activity, Manu climbed all the boyar ranks, eventually reaching the highest one, that of "Great Vornic".In 1858, after the
Crimean War removed the country from Russian overseeing, he was, withEmanoil Băleanu andIoan Al. Filipescu , one of the three "Caimacam s" who administered Wallachia pending the election of a new prince by thead hoc Divan . In 1859, he supported the former prince Bibescu instead ofAlexander John Cuza , and, during the latter's rule as "Domnitor " of the United Principalities, he retired from public life. Manu returned only when Carol I replaced Cuza, being elected a member of theParliament of Romania in the firstelectoral college (that of landowners), as a representative ofIlfov County .References
*Dimitrie R. Rosetti, "Dicţionarul contimporanilor", Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara", 1897
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