Under Royal Decree no. 1027 of 24 September 1917, the first permanent Romanian representation was established in the United States of America, in Washington D.C., with Dr. Constantin Angelescu appointed as head of the legation with the rank of minister plenipotentiary.
The tides of history determined him to take up his post on January 15, 1918, the birth of the great Romanian poet, Mihai Eminescu. The secretary of the legation was Prince Anton (Antoine) Bibescu, the next minister plenipotentiary of Romania in the USA.
We must emphasize that Romania’s diplomatic representatives were envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, chargés d’affaires or ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, depending on the dynamics of bilateral Romanian-US relations throughout history. The Romanian Legation or Embassy was permanently headquartered in the US capital – Washington D.C.
Romania’s first 11 diplomatic representatives to the United States of America with the diplomatic rank of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary were the following:
1. Romanian physician and politician Constantin Angelescu (1869-1948; term in office: 1 October 1917 – 15 March 1918)
As Minister of Public Works in the Cabinet led by Ion I.C. Brătianu, Constantin Angelescu oversaw the functioning of the medical and sanitary system during the Great War. After the Great Union, he was appointed Minister of Public Instruction in all the interwar liberal governments. He spearheaded the adoption of the Law of State Elementary Education and Normal Elementary Education of 26 June 1924. He also organized the Baccalaureate exam at national level, and was known as a great reformer of the national education system. For a short period of time, Constantin Angelescu was Prime Minister of Romania (29 December 1933 – 3 January 1934), after the assassination of Ion Gheorghe Duca, and later served as Minister Secretary of State and Royal Adviser (1938-1940). Elected honorary member of the Romanian Academy (1934), he was also the President of the Romanian Athenaeum (1923-1947) and of the Cultural League (1941-1947).
After his recall, the Legation was headed by Nicolae Lahovari (1887-1972; interim term in office: 16 March 1918 – 25 February 1921), who was not designated envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, but remained chargé d’affaires.
2. Prince Anton (Antoine) Bibescu (1878-1951; term in office: 25 February 1921 – 24 February 1926)
A Lawyer, diplomat and writer (playwright), Anton Bibescu was a refined intellectual, a friend of Marcel Proust and the brother-in-law of Martha Bibescu. His wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a former British Prime Minister, Earl Herbert Henry Asquith. He started his diplomatic career before the Great War, first as an attaché, then as chargé d’affaires of the Romanian Legation in London. His name is tied to the 1921 purchase of the building where the current Romanian Embassy is venued in the USA, at Sheridan Circle and 23rd Street in Washington D.C. (see the adjacent image). Several years later, he was appointed Romania’s diplomatic envoy to Madrid (1927-1931).
After Bibescu’s recall from the USA, Frederic Nanu (1884-1991) was appointed chargé d’affaires ad interim (24 February – 9 April 1926).
After him, diplomat Trandafir G. Djuvara (1856-1935) took over Nanu’s post (9 April 1926 – 15 November 1926). Trandafir Djuvara was the grandfather of the great historian Neagu Djuvara.
3. Gheorghe Cretzianu (1865-1931; term in office: 15 November 1926 – 15 October 1929; the image below portrays Cretzianu at the start of his mission in Washington – Credits: The Diplomatic Archives of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Gheorghe Cretzianu started his mission in Washington during the historic and triumphant visit of Queen Mary to the USA (18 October – 24 November 1926). Previously, he held the position of Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1911-1913), and starting 2013, he became Romania’s first envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Spain, later taking up the same post in Poland.
4. Carol A. Davila (1886-1963; term in office: 15 October 1929 – 1 February 1938)
The son of the famous playwright Alexandru Davila and the grandson of the great physician Carol Davila, a cultured and refined man, Carol A. Davila was the second longest-serving diplomatic representative in the history of Romanian-US relations, an ambassador with a tragic destiny, about whom I wrote an article that can be read here. Better known as Citta Davila, he was good friends with King Carol II of Romania.
5. Aviation Commander-General Radu Irimescu (1890-1975; term in office: 11 April 1938 – 15 October 1940)
A politician, diplomat, engineer and businessman, Radu Irimescu served as Senator (1933-1934), Under-Secretary of State for the Air (1932-1935), Minister of National Defense (28 August 1937 – 4 September 1937) and Minister of the Air and Navy (January 1937 – February 1938).
After his recall, the Romanian Legation in the USA was led by Brutus Coste (1910-1984) over 15 October 1940 – 27 May 1941, and then by Vasile Stoica (1889-1959) over 27 May 1941 – 12 December 1941, i.e. until diplomatic ties were severed.
Over 12 December 1941 – 20 September 1946, diplomatic dialogue was discontinued due to the state of belligerence arising between the two states. In fact, they were resumed on 7 February 1946, at legation level, and the first Romanian diplomatic representative was appointed only in September that year.
6. Academician Mihai Ralea (1896-1964; term in office: 20 September 1946 – 21 September 1949)
Mihai Ralea was an essayist, philosopher, historian, psychologist, esthetician, sociologist, legal expert, diplomat, teacher and Deputy in the Great National Assembly (in the 1948-1952 legislature). He wrote a book about his mission, “In the Far West”, where he describes American life from the perspective of the Sovietization process of those times, much in the vein of Mihai Roller’s works, mystifying history and promoting historical inaccuracies. Ralea fell into the trap of history, as historians Alexandru Popescu and Lucian Boia state. Commenting on his volume, Dorian Branea, the director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and the author of the book “The United States of Romanians”, wrote that it is the most embarrassing book about America ever written by an intellectual who had lived for several years in the USA. Among his other works published before the establishment of communism, it is worth mentioning “Introduction to Sociology”, “Sociology and the Theory of Knowledge”, “The Shaping of Personality”, “Values”, “Hypotheses and Clarifications in the Science of the Soul”, “Specificity and Beauty in Comments and Suggestions”, “Attitudes”, “Psychology and Life”, “Explaining Man”, “Meanings” and “Between Two Worlds”. After 1948, he published the additional following volumes: “The Two Frances”, “The Sociology of Success” (co-authored), “The History of Psychology” (co-authored), “Introduction to Social Psychology” (published posthumously), etc.
After his recall, Romania’s Legation was headed by Mihai Magheru (1910-2002; interim term in office: 21 September 1949 – 15 April 1953), although he was never appointed minister plenipotentiary.
7. Marin Florea Ionescu (1899-1967; term in office: 15 April 1953 – 4 May 1954)
Marin Florea Ionescu was an illegal communist activist, the Secretary of the Presidency of the Great National Assembly (1948-1953). After his mandate in Washington D.C., he was appointed Romania’s Ambassador to Poland.
8. Anton Moisescu (1913-2002; term in office: 4 May 1954 – 9 April 1956)
At the end of his term in the USA, he was designated ambassador to Argentina (1956-1957). Anton Moisescu also held the positions of Deputy in the Great National Assembly (1952-1975) and was its co-president (1958), jointly with the great writer Mihail Sadoveanu. He served as Governor of the National Bank of Romania (1953-1954), Secretary of the Central Council of Trade Unions (since 1957) and chairman of the Red Cross Society (1962-1971). Both him and Petre Bălăceanu, his successor at the helm of the National Bank, were later appointed ministers plenipotentiary in the USA, evidence that the Stalinist-communist regime wanted to establish a certain degree of economic and trade relations with the leader of the democratic world.
9. Silviu Brucan (1916-2006; term in office: 9 April 1956 – 12 August 1959)
Although he needs no introduction, I will nevertheless sketch his portrait, for the purpose of this article. A historian, journalist, diplomat, party man and figure of controversy for many, Silviu Brucan featured extensively on TV shows as a political analyst and scientist after the December 1989 Revolution. At the end of his mandate in Washington, he became Romania’s permanent representative to the United Nations Organization (1959-1962) and, later, the director of the Romanian Radio-Television Broadcasting Corporation (1962-1965). He also wrote a book about his life in the United States together with his wife, Alexandra Sidorovici, “America up-close”, a volume that Dorian Branea describes as filled with the misery and hostility specific to proletkultist culture. After 1990, Silviu Brucan published the following volumes: “The Lost Generation”, “A Handbook and Dictionary of Political Science”, “The pillars of the New Power in Romania”, “From Capitalism to Socialism and Back”, “Social Change in Russia and Eastern Europe”, “Romania Adrift” and “Prophecies of the Past and the Future”.
10. George Macovescu (1913-2002; term in office: 12 August 1959 – 12 December 1961)
A high-ranking communist diplomat, writer, publicist and teacher, George Macovescu was previously Romania’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain (1947-1949), and then a Deputy in the Great National Assembly (1969-1985), Deputy and First Deputy of to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1972-1978) and President of the Romanian Writers’ Union (1979-1982) – after the passing away of surrealist writer Virgil Teodorescu. He authored the following volumes: “Contradictions in the British Empire”, “The Life and Work of Al. Sahia”, “Gheorghe Lazăr”, “Predicaments of Literary Reporting”, “People and Facts”, “Introduction to the Science of Literature”, “Ages of Time”, “High Masts”, “The Charm of the Earth. Journal on the Edge Between Dream and Life” (republished as “The Bitter Scent of Green Wormwood”), “The Sign Between the Eyes”, “Once, Somewhere”, “Passing Seasons” and “Journal”, Vol. I, “Domino” (published posthumously).
11. Petre Bălăceanu (1906-1975; term in office: 12 December 1961 – 27 July 1964)
Petre Bălăceanu was received by US President John F. Kennedy on December 12, 1961, upon presenting his diplomatic credentials (see the adjacent picture from the reception, stored in the JFK Library – Credits: EvZ). He was also charge d’affaires to Argentina and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Great Britain and Iceland (1957-1961) and Tunisia (1969-1971), respectively. He previously held the position of Governor of the National Bank of Romania (1953-1956, 1957).
On June 1, 1964, in a joint press release, both states raised their diplomatic legations to the rank of embassy, and the two ministers plenipotentiary were designated ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
By Decree no. 409 of 7 August 1964, Petre Bălăceanu was accredited to the position of ambassador, which he held until 19 July 1967, becoming the first ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States of America in the history of Romanian-US relations.
Subsequently, the above-mentioned office was held by:
12. Economist and diplomat Corneliu Bogdan (1921-1990; term in office: 19 July 1967 – 3 June 1976)
Corneliu Bogdan was the longest-serving ambassador of Romania to the USA. In 1962, he was the deputy of Romania’s representative to the UN Security Council, a moment that coincided with the Cuban missile crisis involving the USA and the Soviet Union. As ambassador, he helped organize the visit made by President Richard Nixon to Bucharest, on 2-3 August 1969. For a short period of time, he served as Minister-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dying unexpectedly on 2 January 1990. More information about this reputed Romanian diplomat, who took part in negotiations between Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai, but also in other behind-the-scenes negotiations during that tumultuous period of the Cold War, is available in my article. He co-authored the volume “Spheres of Influence”.
After his recall, the Embassy was headed by Gheorghe Ioniță (3-18 June 1976).
13. Nicolae M. Nicolae (1924-2009; term in office: 18 June 1976 – 11 August 1978)
An engineer by training, Nicolae M. Nicolae was a director in the Ministry of Electricity, Minister-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade (1966-1976). He attended the G-77 Conference (the third ministerial meeting) held in 1975 in Manila (Philippines), a group created by developing countries, which communist Romania also joined. He was later chairman of the Forecasting Commission of the National Council for Science and Technology (1978-1984). He held the position of Minister of Foreign Trade (2 January – 28 June 1990) in Petre Roman’s Cabinet. He authored an interesting book, prefaced by the great historian Florin Constantiniu, about his experience as ambassador to the USA, “The World as I Knew it. Memoirs of a Former Ambassador of Romania”.
After his recall, the Embassy was headed by Ion Besteliu (1929-2006; term in office: 11 August – 3 October 1978).
14. Nicolae Ionescu (term in office: 3 October 1978 – 24 March 1982)
Nicolae Ionescu’s mandate was marked by the reexamination of the Most-Favored-Nations (MFN) Clause and bilateral relations. He also had talks with Alfred Moses – the USA’s future ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Bucharest after 1989 (14 December 1994 – 11 August 1997) – about the status of Jews in Romania.
After Nicolae Ionescu’s recall, the Embassy was headed by Eugen Popa (24 March – 30 April 1982).
15. Academician Mircea Malița (1927-2018; term in office: 30 April 1982 – 9 April 1985)
A mathematician, historian, philosopher, teacher and publicist, Mircea Malița previously served as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1962-1969), Minister of Education (1970-1972) and Ambassador of Romania to the Swiss Confederation (1980-1982), also acting as Romania’s representative to the UN headquartered in Geneva (1981-1982). He is the founder of the Club of Rome and co-author of reports issued by this organization. His best-known works include the following: “Romanian Diplomacy. A Historical Study”, “The Theory and Practice of Negotiation”, “Diplomacy. Schools and Institutions”, “Games on the World Stage. Conflicts, Negotiations, Diplomacy”, “Pictures from the Cold War. Memoirs of a Romanian Diplomat”, “Between War and Peace”, “My Short Century”, “Chapters from the History of Romanian Diplomacy” and “History Through the Eyes of a Diplomat” (the last two are co-authored).
16. Nicolae Gavrilescu (term in office: 9 April 1985 – 28 September 1987)
Boasting an impressive diplomatic experience, Nicolae Gavrilescu was previously Romania’s ambassador to the People’s Republic of China for seven years (1972-1978).
17. Ion Stoichici (term in office: 28 September 1987 – 13 February 1990)
He was communist Romania’s last ambassador to the USA and the first ambassador of democratic Romania, with a term of just for 2 months.
After the collapse of the communist regime, on 27 December 1989, Romania’s Embassy notified the US Department of State that our country is no longer called the Socialist Republic of Romania and that its new name is Romania.
Romania’s subsequent Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America were the following:
18. Virgil Constantinescu (term in office: 13 February 1990 – 6 April 1992)
After his mandate in Washington D.C., Virgil Constantinescu was appointed Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (1996-1999).
19. Writer, essayist and poet Aurel-Dragoș Munteanu (1942-2005; term in office: 6 April 1992 – 20 September 1994)
Aurel-Dragoș Munteanu was the first president of the Romanian Television Broadcasting Corporation after the 1989 Revolution and Romania’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the UN headquartered in New York (1990-1992). During his mandate at the helm of the UN Security Council, which coincided with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, he negotiated five Council resolutions without a single negative vote. After his recall, Aurel-Dragoș Munteanu decided to stay in the USA, where he passed away. Upon his death, US President George H. Bush described him as “a true patriot, a very effective ambassador and a warm human being”. He was an interesting figure who escaped transition, as historian and diplomat Radu Ioanid wrote. Aurel-Dragoș Munteanu published the following volumes: “Disquieting Afternoon” (stories), “Alone”, “The Sacred Scarab”, “The Great Loves” (novels) and “A Writer’s Work and Destiny” (essays).
20. The famous political dissident, mathematician and teacher Mihai Horia Botez (1940-1995; term in office: 20 September 1994 – 11 July 1995)
A great and refined intellectual and futurist, Mihai Horia Botez was Romania’s ambassador to the UN headquartered in New York (1992-1994) and was serving as Romania’s Ambassador to the USA when he suddenly died of a heart attack. A true patriot and a great friend to the United States and Israel, Mihai Horia Botez was very close to great cultural figures such as Nicolae Manolescu or Dorin Tudoran. He wrote the following books: “Letters to Vlad Georgescu”, “How Romanians see Themselves” and “The Second World – Introduction to Structural Communism”.
21. Engineer and diplomat Mircea Dan Geoană (b. 1958; term in office: 1 February 1996 – 25 May 2001; the adjacent picture was taken at his reception by American President Bill Clinton upon presenting his diplomatic credentials – Credits: Facebook)
During his tenure, the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States of America was launched and signed on 11 July 1997. He held the position of Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over 17 October 2019 – 10 September 2024. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000-2004) and Speaker of the Romanian Senate (2008-2011). He published the volumes: “Battle for the Future of Romania – Thoughts of a Romanian at the Top of NATO”, “Trust – The Change we Want must be Made, not Expected”, “The Romanian Social Model – The Path to a Different Romania”, “America, Europe and the Modernization of Romania – Foundations for a Romanian Social project”, “The Road to Europe and the Transatlantic World – Romania’s Foreign Policy at the Start of the 21st Century” and “Open Doors – NATO Enlargement and Euro-Atlantic Security in the 1990s” (co-authored).
22. Engineer, teacher and diplomat Sorin Dumitru Ducaru (b. 1964; term in office: 25 May 2001 – 15 August 2006)
During his mandate, Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004. He was Romania’s permanent representative to the UN headquartered in New York (2000-2001) and later to NATO (2006-2013) and assistant to the NATO Secretary General (2013-2017). At present, he is the acting Director of the European Union Satellite Center (since June 2019).
23. Engineer and career diplomat Adrian Cosmin Vierița (b. 1962; term in office 2 January 2008 – 19 November 2013)
He was Romania’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (2002-2006), Secretary of State for European Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2008) and Romania’s permanent representative to the United Nations headquartered in Geneva and to international organizations based in Switzerland (2015-2022). He was later appointed as Ambassador in charge of Romania’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). On 4 July 2024, he was appointed Consul General, the head of Romania’s Consulate in Strasbourg, France. He co-authored the volume “Romania at the United Nations Organization”.
24. Engineer and career diplomat Iulian Buga (b. 1957; term in office: 19 November 2013 – 1 September 2015)
Before his diplomatic appointment in the USA, he was Romania’s Ambassador in the Netherlands (2001-2007) and Ireland (2009-2013). Upon completing his mandate in Washington D.C., he was appointed Romania’s ambassador to Sweden (2015-2022). Starting 2022, he is Romania’s Ambassador to Singapore.
25. Diplomat, jurist, historian, university professor and publicist George Cristian Maior (b. 1967; term in office: 17 September 2015 – 22 February 2021)
He was chargé d’affaires at the Romanian Embassy in Ireland (1997-1999), Secretary of State for Euro-Atlantic Integration in the Ministry of National Defense (2000-2004), Senator (2004-2006), Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (2006- 2015). Starting 2021, he has been Romania’s Ambassador to Jordan, and as of 2023 he has also been accredited to Yemen. He is the author, co-author and coordinator of several books in the field of international relations, national security and history, of which the following are worth mentioning: “Uncertainty. Strategic Thinking and International Relations in the 21st Century”, “The New Ally – Rethinking Romania’s Defense Policy at the Start of the 21st Century”, “Spy for Eternity. Frank Wisner”, “Strategic Knowledge in the Extended Black Sea Region”, “Superpolitik – Super-Politics. Strategic Triumph and Failure – Leaders, Great-Power Ambitions and the Logic of Legitimacy in the Order of States and International Affairs”.
26. Romania’s current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America is historian, researcher, academician and publicist Andrei Muraru (b. 1982; accredited on 7 July 2021; in the adjacent image, together with President Joe Biden, during his reception at the White House on 27 June 2022 – Credits: Facebook).
Prior to his nomination as Ambassador, he served as adviser for relations with civil society to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis (22 December 2014 – 7 July 2021) and Executive President of the Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (2012-2014). He is the author of the volume “Vișinescu, the Forgotten Torturer. The Prison, the Crimes, the Trial”, co-author of the volume “A History of Communism in Romania. High-School Textbook” and coordinator of the books “Dictionary of Prisons in Communist Romania (1945-1967)”, “The King, the Communists and the Crown. The True History of the Abdication of Michael I” and “The Revolution of 1989. Vanquished and Victors”.
All of the aforementioned diplomatic representatives have served their country in different contexts and under different historical circumstances. They contributed to improving the image of our country in the United States of America and to strengthening Romanian-US relations.
We cannot classify them, because each of them acted in a world filled with uncertainty and in different historical timeframes. We can point out, however, that Corneliu Bogdan and Carol (Citta) A. Davila were the longest-serving ambassadors in terms of the length of their mandates, the former with a mandate of 8 years and 11 months, while the latter stayed in office for 8 years and 10 months.
» II – Washington’s plenipotentiaries and the Path to the Strategic Partnership
