George Barbu Știrbei or Știrbeiŭ, also known as Gheorghe, Georgie, or Iorgu Știrbei (transitional Cyrillic: George Stirbeiꙋ̆; Francized Georges Stirbey; April 1, 1828 – August 15, 1925), was a Wallachian-born Romanian aristocrat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 15, 1866, until February 21, 1867. He was the eldest son of Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, Prince of Wallachia, and the nephew of his rival, Gheorghe Bibescu; his younger siblings included the landowner and industrialist Alexandru B. Știrbei. Educated in France, he returned to Wallachia during his father's princely mandate, as a Beizadea and aspiring politician. Fleeing his country during the Crimean War, he served the French Empire before returning home to become Wallachian Minister of War and Spatharios. He is remembered for reforming the Wallachian militia during the remainder of Prince Barbu's term.
Știrbei remained a legislator of Wallachia and then of the United Principalities; his core constituency was Dolj County, though his legitimacy there was disputed by allegations of fraud. He was however strongly opposed to the Principalities' first Domnitor, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, reemerging by 1860 as a charismatic leader of the conservative opposition. His involvement in political scandals and electoral intrigues led to his brief arrest that same year, but Cuza was ultimately toppled in 1866. Following this, Știrbei abandoned his own bid for the throne to serve Domnitor Carol of Hohenzollern. As Foreign Minister, he helped secure recognition for the United Principalities, and made diplomatic overtures toward Austria-Hungary. Failing in his attempt to become Prime Minister of Romania, he was disappointed with the Domnitor, leaving politics altogether.
Știrbei divided the second half of his life between homes in Paris and Bécon-les-Bruyères, and was naturalized French. In this period, he was a collector and patron of the arts, noted as Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's last sponsor. He was also married to the actress and sculptor Valérie Simonin, adopting her daughters Consuelo and Georges Achille Fould—whom he educated artistically. His parallel work was as a cultural journalist, and, late in his life, as the posthumous editor of Jean-Jacques Weiss and as a memoirist. His controversial dealings with Carpeaux, the status of his inheritance, and his paternity disputes remained at the center of public attention long after his death.
Biography Origins and early life Știrbei was born in Bucharest, the Wallachian capital, on April 1, 1828, a date he himself gave against records which have 1834;Badea-Păun, p. 108 other sources claim 1832.Lucreția Angheluță, Salomeea Rotaru, Liana Miclescu, Marilena Apostolescu, Marina Vazaca, Bibliografia românească modernă (1831–1918). Vol. IV: R–Z, p. 500. Bucharest: Editura științifică și enciclopedică, 1996. Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 240 His paternal origins were in the Bibescu family, which had its roots in the petty boyar nobility of Oltenia: a yeoman Bibul, living before 1700, was the family patriarch.Iorga (1910), pp. 9–10 The clan went through a rapid social climb after the fall of the Phanariotes and the foundation of a Regulamentul Organic regime. As a protege of Prince Grigore IV Ghica in the 1820s, George's grandfather Dumitrachi married Ecaterina, a member of the Văcărescu family, and made friends with her tutor, Vornic Barbu C. Știrbei. He was a godfather to Dumitrachi's first-born, Barbu Bibescu, whom he adopted, before dying in 1813; Barbu was therefore the only one known as Știrbei among the three Bibescu brothers.Iorga (1910), pp. 9–13. See also Hêrjeu, p. 162; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 137–138, 258; Papazoglu & Speteanu, pp. 182, 313 Alexandra Șerban, "Serial. Boieri mari, Episodul 7: Cum a renăscut neamul Știrbey din propria cenușă. Barbu Știrbey, cel mai abil om din umbra regelui Ferdinand", in Adevărul, February 25, 2017 On his mother Elisabeta's side, George descended from the Cantacuzino family, specifically its branch in Moldavia.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 240; Iorga (1910), p. 31; Mucenic, pp. 73–74
When his son was born, Barbu Bibescu-Știrbei was merely a Clucer, trailing behind his more ambitious brother Gheorghe;Iorga (1910), pp. 15–17 his climb was moreover interrupted by the Russian Empire, with its invasion of Wallachia. It resumed when he was imposed by Consul Peter I. Rikman into the cabinet of Prince Alexandru II Ghica.Hêrjeu, p. 88 The liberal-minded and Westernizing Pavel Kiselyov become governor of the two Danubian Principalities, also forcing Știrbei's appointment to government offices.Iorga (1910), pp. 15–32 As reported by French expatriate Félix Colson, in the 1830s the family was already proudly Bonapartist in their politics.Iorga (1923), p. 59 Their public commitment to Kiselyov prompted the Wallachian establishment to regard the Bibescu–Știrbeis as intolerable upstarts—or "Oltenian horse-breeders", in the reported sayings of Alecu Filipescu-Vulpea.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 137–138, 258 Other critics jokingly referred to the brothers as the "equine dynasty".Chirică, p. 357
During those years, Barbu fathered six more children by Elisabeta: sons Alexandru and Dimitrie, daughters Fenereta, Alina, Elisabeta, and Elena.Mucenic, p. 74 When George turned 12 in 1840, his father dispatched him to the Kingdom of France, where he enlisted at the Bollin school, then at Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During his time at Louis-le-Grand, young Știrbei met and befriended the future writer-politician Jean-Jacques Weiss, becoming his admirer and, later, his biographer and editor.Badea-Păun, pp. 107–108 Taking his Baccalauréat in August 1847, he studied in parallel at the Administrative School, Collège de France, and the Paris Law Faculty. His graduation from the latter came in August 1850, when he published with Firmin Didot his thesis De Condictione indebite ou Des obligations qui se forment sans contrat. He witnessed the French Revolution of 1848, and in later years emphasized its positive qualities in disputes with the more conservative politicians.Catargiu, pp. 268–269 This period of Știrbei's life also overlapped with a Wallachian Revolution, which toppled his uncle Bibescu from the throne. Having conceded the 1842 election to his brother,Hêrjeu, pp. 99–100; Iorga, Istoria, pp. 38–39, 67 & (1923), p. 59; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 141; Papazoglu & Speteanu, pp. 169–170 Barbu Știrbei accepted government office, but maintained his independence. He had been sidelined by the time of the revolt, keeping silent during its outbreak.Iorga (1910), pp. 31–32, 50; Papazoglu & Speteanu, p. 178 However, as noted by his son, he privately resented it as an experiment in socialism.Chiper, pp. 199, 205–206
Following interventions by Russia and the Ottoman Empire, Barbu Știrbei was made Prince and George became the Beizadea. Returning to Bucharest, he was incorporated as a Major into the Wallachian military forces and joined the Prince on official duties, including on his 1851 visit to Telega; he was dispatched on official trips to Saint Petersburg, Hermannstadt, and Istanbul.Iorga (1910), pp. 95–96, 133–134, 149–150, 164, 175, 191. See also Iorga (1923), p. 60; Filitti, p. 70 In Russia, he was expected to manage a diplomatic incident, prompted by his father's passing reference to "foreign interference" in Wallachia's affairs. His later writings reveal his dislike for the salons of Russia and for his liege, Nicolas I, whom he likened to the ancient Kings of Assyria.Iorga (1923), p. 60 Noted as a "great lover of theater and invaluable supporter of the actors", "especially fond" of the comedian Costache Caragiale, he was present with his father for the inauguration of Caragiale's Bucharest Theater (late 1852).N. Săvulescu, "Costache Caragiale", in Revista Fundațiilor Regale, Nr. 2/1939, p. 378
During late 1851 George joined his father's government, replacing Postelnic Ioan Manu, who was taking a sick leave. During that interval, his sister Elena married count Leo Larisch von Mönnich from Cieszyn Silesia; George and his mother sailed to Vienna to attend the wedding."Nouvelles diverses", in Journal de Constantinople, December 4, 1851, p. 2 In 1855, Elena gave birth to his son Georg Larisch, later husband of the Baroness Wallersee.Veronika Matroszová, Rod Larisch-Mönnichů na Karvinsku, pp. 10–11. Karviná: Státní okresní archiv, 1999. By then, George had ascended to more permanent offices in the administration: in 1853, he was Logothete of the Justice Ministry. The cabinet also included Alexandru Plagino, who was brothers-in-law with the Beizadea; later, his brothers-in-law included Ioan Emanoil Florescu.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 74, 215, 241, 282; Maciu, p. 62; Iorga (1910), pp. 36, 49–50, 53, 82, 158, 166–167; Mucenic, p. 74
War Minister A new Russian intervention came in summer 1853, during the escalation ahead of the Crimean War. At the time, Beizadea George was a Colonel attached to the General Staff.Luminița Gavra, "Restituiri. Statul major princiar al oștirii (1830–1865)", in Document. Buletinul Arhivelor Militare, Nr. 1/2010, pp. 27–28 Alongside his father, he paid homage to Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov, an effective surrender.Iorga (1910), p. 152 He was eventually chased out of the country by the unfolding events (as were his younger brothers),"On lit dans le Wanderer, de Vienne", in La Presse, December 3, 1853, p. 2 and returned to Paris, where he applied for service in the French Army. Attached as a foreigner,"Nécrologie" in Le Temps, August 15, 1925, p. 4 he was stationed with the Versailles cavalry, and became Pierre Chrétien Korte's aide de camp. He spent the war negotiating with the Second French Empire and the Ottomans on behalf of his father, carefully balancing the interests of both powers.Badea-Păun, pp. 108–109 As he reported later in life, the Wallachians tacitly supported France; for this reason, young Știrbei was promised command of a "small army corps" attached to the Royal Sardinian Army.
Russia's defeat restored his father to the throne, allowing Știrbei to be decommissioned and to return home; Wallachia and Moldavia had by then been placed under international supervision, ending Regulamentul Organic. The new tutelage of the country involved not only the Ottomans and the Russians, but also France, the Austrian Empire, Great Britain, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Piedmont-Sardinia. From Bucharest, George Știrbei left on new diplomatic tours, visiting Moldavia and approaching its Prince, Grigore Alexandru Ghica; he also had contacts with Austria through Count Coronini. He presented the latter with a paper, Resumé de la situation administrative de Valachie, which became useful for the Western powers in evaluating the course of Wallachian affairs.Badea-Păun, p. 109