Barbu Catargiu (; 26 October/7 November 1807 – 8/20 June 1862) was a conservative Romanian politician and journalist. He was the first Prime Minister of Romania, in 1862, until he was assassinated on 8 June that year. He was a staunch defender of the great estates of the boyars, and notably originated the conservative doctrine that "feudalism in Romania had never existed".
Early life
Barbu Catargiu was born on 26 October 1807 to Ștefan Catargiu, a political activist and Țița (Stanca) Văcărescu. He lived abroad in Paris from 1825 to 1834, where he studied law, history, and philosophy. He returned to Wallachia for a short time and was a member of the National Assembly of Wallachia. An opponent of violence and armed revolution, he resumed his world travels during the Revolutions of 1848, working primarily as a journalist and making a documentary.
Political life
After his return to Romania, Catargiu entered political life as a firm conservative. He believed that evolution, rather than violent revolution was the best way to modernize the Government, and would give the fledgling Romania the best chance at unity. He also advocated an aristocratic republic as the best form of governance, clearly believing in guarding the power of the boyars.
Catargiu was appointed to the position of minister of finances by Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He quickly gained acclaim for his oratorical skills and became the focal point of the Conservative Party. He did very little to actually organize the party, instead depending on his own charisma and ideals to give the party focus. Cuza, despite not agreeing with the conservative doctrine and even seeing Catargiu as an adversary of sorts, recognized his abilities and the power of his followers and chose Catargiu as prime minister of the newly formed union between Wallachia and Moldavia.
On 22 January 1862, Catargiu was sworn in as the first prime minister of Romania, ruling from Bucharest. As prime minister, Catargiu hoped to reorganize and simplify the administration. He formed four administrative divisions, two in what had been Wallachia and two in Moldavia. He placed the four divisions under the supervision of a minister of the interior and unified the financial and judicial departments under the central government. Arguably the most important act of his rule was his order to begin a railroad in Moldavia that would link the two provinces and greatly aid unification. He also continued his support for the "old order"