Alexandru Barbu Știrbei, also rendered Alex. Știrbeĭ, Știrbey, or Știrbeiŭ (Francized Alexandre Stirbey; 1837 – March 13, 1895), was a Wallachian-born Romanian aristocrat, politician, businessman and agriculturalist, the son of Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, Prince of Wallachia, younger brother of George Barbu Știrbei, and nephew of another Prince, Gheorghe Bibescu. After a short career in the French Army, he returned to the United Principalities and served terms in their Assembly of Deputies, inheriting the fortune left by his father. He established pioneering industries around his manorial estates of Buftea and Dărmănești, and became a guest, and sometime host, of literary meetings held by the political club Junimea.
Știrbei's father renounced all claims to the Romanian throne in the 1860s, and his entire family remained loyal to King Carol I. While caucusing with the Junimists, Știrbei also helped establish the Conservative Party, and served as its leader for three weeks in 1881. He was the Romanian Kingdom's Minister of Public Works and Minister of the Interior under Theodor Rosetti (1888–1889); he only served one more term in a cabinet, as Finance Minister under Ioan Emanoil Florescu (1891). Știrbei personally dealt with the ramifications of the Strousberg Affair, which led him to participate in the creation of Romania's railway grid.
He was survived by son Barbu Știrbey, who went on to become Prime Minister of Romania and also continued his work in agriculture; and by daughter Eliza, who married another Prime Minister, Ion I. C. Brătianu. Știrbei was the posthumous grandfather of politician George Cretzianu, of female aviator Marina Știrbei and, allegedly, of Ileana of Romania. The large estate built by Știrbei, and expanded by his children, was dismantled during the communist regime, which also persecuted his descendants. It has been restored since, and continues to be lucrative into the 21st century.
Biography Origins and early life Born in Bucharest,Grigore & Șerbu, p. 115 Alexandru was the son of Barbu, the future reigning Prince. As such, he was also the nephew of Prince Barbu's rival brother, Gheorghe Bibescu, cousin of the adventurer Georges Bibesco, and uncle of the aviation pioneer George Valentin Bibescu. Roxana Roseti, Vlad Teodorescu, "Prințul rătăcitor", in Jurnalul Național, March 20, 2010 Constantin Ciopraga, "Anna principesă Brâncoveanu contesă de Noailles", in Convorbiri Literare, August 2008 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 As such, he was also the granduncle of writer Anna de Noailles. His other cousin was the poet Alexandru Bibescu, making Știrbei the uncle of diplomat Antoine Bibesco. Simona Lazăr, "Prințul Alexandru Bibescu, un sonetist francez", in Jurnalul Național, March 18, 2011
At first, the Stirbey family belonged to the low-ranking boyar aristocracy of Oltenia, and more specifically Gorj County, tracing their origins to the yeoman Bibul.Iorga, pp. 9–10 Its first influential member had been Alexandru's grandfather, Logothete Dumitrachi Bibescu, whose life coincided with the end of Phanariote rule and the ascendancy of native or assimilated boyars. A protege of Prince Grigore IV Ghica in the 1820s,Iorga, pp. 9–11 he married Ecaterina, granddaughter of the boyaress Safta Brâncoveanu and a member of the Văcărescu family. His second son was adopted by a more prestigious Oltenian, the Vornic Barbu C. Știrbei, who left him his name, the estate of Cepturoaia,Iorga, pp. 11–13 and vineyards outside Drăgășani. Tudor Cireș, Simona Lazăr, "Prințese valahe și baroni austrieci", in Jurnalul Național, August 31, 2008 The Bibescu and Știrbei branches remained distinct and competitive, with the two brothers even running against each other in the princely election of 1842—although eventually Barbu ceded Gheorghe his votes.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 141 Figures of the establishment looked down on both of them, seeing them as upstarts, equally unprepared for national politics.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 137–138, 258
In all, Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei had seven children by his Cantacuzino wife, Elisabeta. Alexandru's older brother, George Barbu Știrbei, had a career in the Wallachian military forces and as a diplomatic liaison of his father's.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 74, 240; Iorga, pp. 95–96, 133–134, 149–150, 153, 164, 175, 179–183, 191; Mucenic, p. 74 Both he and his father, who had abdicated, won seats as deputies to the ad hoc Divan in the September 1857 race.Gherghe, pp. 128–130, 161, 173–174; Iorga, pp. 191–192 Following the establishment of the United Principalities, George mounted the opposition to Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and, in 1860, was arrested for sedition.Badea-Păun, pp. 109–110; Iorga, p. 191. See also Gane I, p. 90 A sister, Elena, had married count Leo Larisch von Mönnich from Cieszyn Silesia;Iorga, p. 158; Mucenic, p. 74 in 1855, she gave birth to his son Georg, later husband of the Baroness Wallersee.Veronika Matroszová, Rod Larisch-Mönnichů na Karvinsku, pp. 10–11. Karviná: Státní okresní archiv, 1999. Other brothers-in-law included General Ioan Emanoil Florescu and politician Alexandru Plagino.Crutzescu & Teodorescu, pp. 210, 370, 536, 549; Iorga, pp. 36, 49–50, 53, 82, 158, 166–167; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 74, 215, 241, 282; Oana Marinache, "Vila prințesei Alina Știrbey, azi Muzeul orașului Sinaia", in Adevărul (Bucharest edition), December 19, 2015; Mucenic, p. 74Gheorghe G. Bezviconi, Necropola Capitalei, pp. 265–266. Bucharest: Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, 1972
Both Alexandru and his other brother, Dimitrie, were originally chased out of Wallachia by the Crimean War: in November 1853, the country's invasion by Russia forced them to settle in Paris."On lit dans le Wanderer, de Vienne", in La Presse, December 3, 1853, p. 2 Alexandru studied at the Military School of Saint-Cyr,"Lettre de Roumanie. Bucarest, le 22 mars", in Journal des Débats, March 26, 1895, pp. 1–2 but he is also known to have held a degree in the sciences. He secured an officer's rank in the French Army under the Second Empire, before being recalled to Wallachia by his father during the Italian War of 1859, in what was probably at attempt to maintain good relations between Wallachia and the Austrian Empire. This policy was disregarded by the prince's nephew Georges Bibesco, who went on to serve with distinction in the Franco–Mexican War.
Entering politics Prince Barbu and his sons were offered a final chance to take the throne over both Principalities, in early 1866.Iorga, p. 193; Theodorian-Carada, pp. 58, 60 By contrast with Sașa Cuza, all Știrbei and Bibescu princes renounced their vague claims to the throne following the ascendancy of a foreign-born Domnitor, Carol of Hohenzollern. The former Wallachian ruler visited Carol Carol, pledging his and his sons' support.Badea-Păun, p. 110. See also Iorga, pp. 193–194 George Știrbei was an enthusiastic follower of the new regime, serving Carol as Foreign Minister. Within a few years, he quit politics, either because of diseaseP. Boutet, "Nouvelles diplomatiques et internationales", in Le Mémorial Diplomatique, No. 18/1870, p. 205 or because of feeling snubbed by Carol.Badea-Păun, p. 111 Dimitrie Știrbei, also active under the Carol regime, was a diplomatic envoy before trying out a political career in the 1880s.Bacalbașa II, p. 104
For his part, Alexandru was inactive during the Cuza and early Carol years, before entering political life with the "White" (conservative) party. In 1867, he began his philanthropic work by joining a famine relief committee, to which his father contributed 10,000 lei."Bucurescĭ 4/16 Florarŭ", in Romanulu, May 5, 1867, p. 1 Already in 1866, he had joined the right-wing monarchist committee formed around Ordinea newspaper,Ștribăț, p. 208 but could only register as a voter in early 1868, with the 1st College of Bucharest."Partea comunale. Consiliulu municipalu din Bucuresci. Ședința VI. Miercurĭ 7 Fevruariŭ, séra, 1868", in Romanulu, February 24, 1868, p. 171 Upon his father's death in 1869, and his mother and older brother withdrawing to France,Badea-Păun, pp. 111–112; Mucenic, pp. 74–75 Alexandru inherited the Știrbei residence on Calea Victoriei, and a family domain in Buftea. The latter, purchased by Prince Barbu in 1845,Crutzescu & Teodorescu, p. 535 endured as his favorite hangout, where he built himself the eponymous Gothic revival palace.Mucenic, p. 75 Alexandru married Maria Ghica-Comănești of the Moldavian Ghicas. She brought him as dowry the winery of Dărmănești, which he also turned into a manor, Simina Stan, "Conacul familiei George Știrbey de la Dărmănești", in Jurnalul Național, July 25, 2009 as well as farmlands in Brusturoasa and Mândrești. Nicolae Petrescu-Redi, "Generalul Radu R. Rosetti, între moșia cea mică – Brusturoasa și moșia cea Mare – România", in Convorbiri Literare, December 2015 They had eight children together (two sons and six daughters), including Eliza (born 1870) and Barbu Alexandru (born 1872). Z. Ornea, "Memoriile soților Brătianu", in România Literară, Nr. 40/1999 Daniela Cârlea Șontică, "Prințul alb", in Jurnalul Național, December 12, 2005Grigore & Șerbu, p. 219; Rosetti, pp. 92, 126–127, 194
A. B. Știrbei joined the Assembly of Deputies during the 1871–1875 legislature, taking a seat in by-elections for Dolj County (June 1872).Gherghe, p. 287 Assisting fellow deputy Gheorghe Manu, he tried to solve the Strousberg Affair by reselling railway stock to the Romanian state. Against other colleagues, he did not favor selling more stock to the Englishman George Crawley, noting that the latter lacked credentials.Nicolescu, pp. 121–123, 169–173, 243 In May 1874, he was a rapporteur on the negotiations with Austria-Hungary, which dealt specifically with opening the Romanian railway grid to the Austrian StEG, through connections in Bolvașnița and Predeal.Nicolescu, pp. 145–146 In this, he pursued a political line that had been set by his brother.Lucia Tafta, "Relațiile economice româno-franceze: aranjamentul comercial din noiembrie 1876", in Muzeul Național, Vol. XII, 2000, p. 124
Știrbei also joined a committee of inquiry looking into the activities of Petre Mavrogheni as Minister of FinanceGane I, pp. 163–164 and a group investigating allegations of embezzlement by Nicolae C. Brăiloiu, the Mayor of Bucharest.Nicolescu, pp. 135–136 In the elections of July 1874, he was made a steward of Bucharest Commune, seconding Manu and Dimitrie Ghica.Bacalbașa I, pp. 132–133 Ahead of the legislative election of 1875, Știrbei rallied with Ghica's "Liberal Conservative" faction, which sought to reconcile the "Whites" and the liberal movement.Bacalbașa I, pp. 152–153 Thereafter, Știrbei focused on his Assembly career. In April 1876, with Petre P. Carp, he gave conditional support to the new Prime Minister Florescu, who, although a conservative and Știrbei's cousin, had been imposed by Domnitor Carol.Nicolescu, p. 214