Michel Sturdza
| Mihail R. Sturdza | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania | |
| In office September 14, 1940 – January 17, 1941 |
|
| Monarch | Michael of Romania |
| Preceded by | Mihail Manoilescu |
| Succeeded by | Ad interim Ion Antonescu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 28, 1886 Târgu Ocna, Romania |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Madrid, Spain |
Prince Mihail R. Sturdza (28 August 1886 – 5 February 1980)[1] was a Romanian nobleman and diplomat.
Biography
He was a descendant of the wealthy and influential Sturdza family of Romanian landowners, politicians and boyars.[2] Played a brief role in Romanian interwar politics.
Mihail Sturdza, originally a conservative and nationalist, was a member of the Iron Guard. As a supporter of the leader of the Iron Guard Horia Sima, he was a brief period (14 September 1940 – 26 January 1941) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania during the National Legionary State after the abdication of King Carol II.
After several diplomatic posts (e.g. in Vienna, Budapest and in Washington as chargé d'affaires) Sturdza was in 1929 appointed as minister plenipotentiary for Latvia, Estonia and Finland, in Riga. In that capacity he acted in 1932 as Romania's representative in the negotiations with Soviet Russia about a non-aggression agreement. The negotiations failed, due to the Soviet demand to discuss and annex the disputed territory of Bessarabia, which was apart of Romania.
Sturdza was from 1938 Romanian ambassador in Denmark.
As Foreign Minister Sturdza attended with the German minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop the signature on November 23, 1940 of the Tripartite Pact with nazi-Germany between Adolf Hitler and the Romanian head of government General Ion Antonescu. In December 1940 Sturdza obtained the replacement of the German ambassador Wilhelm Fabricius with Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, perceived as more sympathetic to the Iron Guard.[3] After the clash between the Iron Guard and General Ion Antonescu in January 1941 (see Legionary Rebellion), which was won by the latter, Sturdza had to resign. Antonescu took over leadership of the ministry, with the compliant diplomat Constantin Greceanu as his right hand.
After the defeat of the Iron Guard in January 1940 Sturdza followed party leader Horia Sima into exile; first in Sofia, Bulgaria and afterward in Germany and Denmark. Sturdza became again Minister of Foreign Affairs in a Romanian government in Vienna from 10 December 1944 until the end of World War II.
After WW II Sturdza fled first to Denmark, where he stayed till 1947. Afterward he found refuge in Spain and later in USA, where he kept strong ties with other members of the Iron Guard in exile. He wrote several books about the history of his native country and international affairs. In later years he was involved in political organisations. In 1968 he published his memoirs, which were well received in rightwing circles for his cold war- and anti-communist points of view.
Works in English translation
- World Government and International Assassination (1963)
- The Suicide of Europe (1968)
- Betrayal by Rulers (1976)
Notes
- ↑ https://www.rulers.org/indexs5.html
- ↑ Further reading Alexandru Sturdza and Roxandra Sturdza
- ↑ Deletant, pp. 63, 301
References
- Dennis Deletant, Hitler's Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940–1944, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2006.
- Nicolae Ciobanu, "Armand Călinescu: Jertfă pentru liniştea şi independenţa ţării. «Omul de oţel» împotriva Gărzii de Fier" ("Armand Călinescu: A Sacrifice for the Country's Peace and Security. The «Man of Steel» versus the Iron Guard"), in Dosarele Istoriei, 6/IV (1999)
- Petru Ignat, Gheorghe Matei, "Asasinarea lui Armand Călinescu" ("Armand Călinescu's Assassination"), in Magazin Istoric, October 1967
- Zad Rust, 'Teddy Bare The Real Story of Chappaquiddick'. Western Islands Publishers, Boston, Los Angeles, 1971.
