Ion I. C. Brătianu
Ion Ionel Constantin Brătianu (, also known as Ionel Brătianu; 20 August 1864 – 24 November 1927) was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on several occasions; he was the eldest son of statesman and PNL leader Ion Brătianu, the brother of Vintilă and Dinu Brătianu, and the father of Gheorghe I. Brătianu. Ion I. C. Brătianu's political activities after World War I, including part of his third and fourth term, saw the unification of the Old Romanian Kingdom with Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia (see: Greater Romania). In 1923, he was elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Early life Born at Florica, his father's estate in Ștefănești, Argeș County, he completed his secondary education at the Saint Sava National College in Bucharest (1882). He then volunteered for the Romanian Army's artillery, serving for six months before becoming a Second lieutenant. During his military service, Brătianu studied engineering. He left for Paris in 1883, and attended the Collège Sainte-Barbe, then took classes (without being a registered student) at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (1884–1889). Brătianu received an engineer's diploma, but not a licence to practice. In 1889, he returned to the country and was assigned orders by the Army, being promoted to Lieutenant. Later in that year, he joined the Romanian Railways as an engineer, working under the leadership of Anghel Saligny. Early politics He became a member of the PNL in 1895, the same year he ran in elections and was elected to the Parliament of Romania by the Ist College (of the landed gentry) in Gorj County. In early 1899, he was in the majority that voted in favor of the entry of former members of the Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party into the PNL. He served as Minister of Public Works (31 March 1897-March 30, 1899; 14 February 1901-July 18, 1902) and Minister of the Interior (12 March 1907-December 27, 1908) - the latter assignment was prompted by the effects of the 1907 Peasants' Revolt. In 1909, he was elected head of the National Liberals, a position he was to hold until his death; he first became Prime Minister in January 1909, and kept the office until 28 December 1910. Brătianu's policies moved the PNL towards an acceptance of land reform, but deliberations over the project continued until after World War I, with Brătianu himself showing reserves over projects that aimed to replace the 1866 Constitution of Romania with a fully democratic one. In 1913, he convinced his party to accept a moderate version of land reform, as well as the creation of a single electoral college - a measure which would have given more accurate representation to the peasant majority. Over the following months, these policies were approved on principle by King Carol I, and even by the Conservative Party. World War I The outbreak of the world conflict in 1914 brought a major polemic in Romanian society. The