Romanian general (1886?1940)
Gabriel Marinescu
(first name also
Gavril
or
Gavril?
; November 7, 1886 ? November 26/27, 1940) was a
Romanian
general.
Born in
Tigveni
,
Arge? County
, he was the son of a teacher.
[1]
He attended
Saint Sava National College
in
Bucharest
, the school for soldiers’ sons in
Ia?i
and the Bucharest military school, from which he graduated in 1907 as head of his class, with the rank of second lieutenant.
[2]
After being promoted to lieutenant (1910) and then captain (1915), Marinescu served during the
Romanian Campaign
of
World War I
in a
Van?tori
regiment. Promoted to major in April 1917, he distinguished himself in the
Battle of M?r??ti
. For his valor displayed at engagements at
Tope?ti
and
Barse?ti
in the
Putna River
valley, on 11 August 1917 he was awarded the
Order of Michael the Brave
, 3rd class. In 1918 he became commanding officer of the 9th Mountain Troops Regiment. After the war, he joined the staff of the rural gendarmerie, becoming lieutenant colonel in 1921 and colonel in 1926.
[1]
[2]
In June 1930, soon after assuming the throne,
King
Carol II
dismissed Bucharest's incumbent prefect of police, naming Marinescu, who held the office until November 1939. The deed was accomplished by royal decree without cabinet approval, signaling Carol's authoritarian tendencies. Marinescu thus became a founding member of the royal
camarilla
. As part of his duties, the general selected prostitutes appealing to the king.
[1]
In 1934, Carol considered him to be his "personal guard", and a year later he told
Nicolae Lupu
that Marinescu was "the only man I trust".
[3]
In 1935, the building of a new police headquarters began; it was completed two years later. This was initiated by Marinescu and financed by
Max Auschnitt
. The same year, Marinescu co-authored a hagiographic volume on the king, and delivered a radio address attacking his opponent
Iuliu Maniu
. In February 1937, he was named state secretary at the
Interior Ministry
. As such, he took a number of harsh but unsuccessful measures against the
Iron Guard
, which in 1936 had already marked him for execution.
[4]
On 10 May 1937 he was promoted to brigadier general.
In January 1938, shortly before the
National Renaissance Front
regime was established, Marinescu returned to his Interior position.
[4]
Following the assassination of
Prime Minister
Armand C?linescu
, he was named Interior Minister. During the week he served (21?28 September 1939), his agents killed some 250 Guard members in reprisal. He was then named head of a new Public Order Ministry, where he was responsible for the police and gendarmerie. This was dissolved on October 3. In November, Marinescu was dismissed as prefect of police.
[5]
In October 1940, during the
National Legionary State
, Marinescu was arrested. He was assassinated the next month as part of the
Jilava massacre
.
[5]
[6]
He is buried at
Bellu Cemetery
in
Bucharest
.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Grigore and ?erbu, p. 267
- ^
a
b
"Gabriel Marinescu ? ctitor, demon ?i prefect de poli?ie"
.
Adev?rul
(in Romanian). June 2, 2007
. Retrieved
May 6,
2021
.
- ^
?inca, Florin.
"Gavril? Marinescu, Omul regelui Carol al II-lea. Cronologie!"
.
Historia
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
May 6,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Grigore and ?erbu, p. 268
- ^
a
b
Grigore and ?erbu, p. 269
- ^
?inca, Florin.
"Noaptea Sfantului Bartolomeu ? Masacrul r?zbun?rii legionare"
.
Historia
. Retrieved
April 17,
2020
.
References
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External links
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