Petre P. Carp

Petre P. Carp
P. P. Carp (pre-1900 photograph)
21st Prime Minister of Romania
In office 7 July 1900 – 13 February 1901
Monarch	Carol I
Preceded by	Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino
Succeeded by	Dimitrie Sturdza
In office 29 December 1910 – 28 March 1912
Monarch	Carol I
Preceded by	Ion I. C. Brătianu
Succeeded by	Titu Maiorescu
Minister of Finance
In office 7 July 1900 – 13 February 1901
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Take Ionescu
Succeeded by	Gheorghe Pallade
In office 29 December 1910 – 28 March 1912
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Emil Costinescu
Succeeded by	Theodor Rosetti
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 20 April 1870 – 14 December 1870
Prime Minister	Manolache Costache Epureanu
Preceded by	Alexandru G. Golescu
Succeeded by	Nicolae Calimachi-Catargiu
In office 22 March 1888 – 22 March 1889
Prime Minister	Theodor Rosetti
Preceded by	Mihail Pherekyde
Succeeded by	Alexandru N. Lahovari
Additional positions Member of the Senate of Romania In office 1877–1916 Member of the Assembly of Deputies In office 1867–1877 Constituency Vaslui County Ambassador of Romania to Vienna In office 31 October 1882 – 21 September 1884 Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, and Property In office 4 June 1888 – 11 November 1888 Prime Minister Theodor Rosetti Preceded by Titu Maiorescu Succeeded by Alexandru N. Lahovari In office 18 December 1891 – 3 October 1895 Prime Minister Lascăr Catargiu Preceded by Gheorghe Manu Succeeded by Gheorghe Pallade Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Instruction In office 23 May 1870 – 14 December 1870 Prime Minister Manolache Costache Epureanu Preceded by Vasile Pogor Succeeded by Nicolae Gr. Racoviță In office 30 January 1876 – 30 March 1876 Prime Minister Lascăr Catargiu Preceded by Titu Maiorescu Succeeded by Alexandru Orăscu
Personal details
Born	Petre Petrache Carp June 28 (or 29), 1837 Iași, Moldavia
Died	June 19, 1919(1919-06-19) (aged 81) Țibănești, Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Political party	Junimea Conservative Party
Spouse	Sevastia Cantacuzino ​ ​ (m. 1874⁠–⁠1919)​
Occupation	Diplomat, politician

Petre P. Carp (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpetre pe karp]; also Petrache Carp, Francized Pierre Carp,^[1] occasionally Comte Carpe;^[2] 28^[3] or 29^[4] June 1837  – 19 June 1919) was a Moldavian, later Romanian statesman, political scientist and culture critic, one of the major representatives of Romanian liberal conservatism, and twice the country's Prime Minister (1900–1901, 1910–1912). His youth was intertwined with the activity of Junimea club, which he co-founded with critic Titu Maiorescu as a literary society, and then helped transform it into a political club. He left behind a budding career as Junimea's polemicist and cultural journalist, joining the state bureaucracy of the United Principalities, the Romanian diplomatic corps, and ultimately electoral politics. A speaker for aristocratic sentiment and the Romanian gentry, Carp helped create the Conservative Party from the various "White" conservative clubs (1880), but also led a Junimist dissident wing against the Conservative mainstream leaders Lascăr Catargiu and Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino. He was a contributor to the Junimea platform Convorbiri Literare, and founder of the newspapers Térra (1868) and Moldova (1915).

Widely seen as unyielding and trenchant in his public stance, and respected as an orator, P. P. Carp stood against the majority current in various political debates. His entire discourse was an alternative to the protectionist, antisemitic and populist tendencies of "Red" Romanian liberalism. Welcoming Westernization and free trade, his vision of development nonetheless rested on gradualism and criticized modern experiments in governance. The two Carp administrations are remembered for their fiscal reforms, their encouragement of foreign investments, and their attempted clampdown on political corruption.

A Germanophile and a Russophobe, Carp gathered consensus for steering the Kingdom of Romania into the Triple Alliance, but his external policy became entirely unpopular by the start of World War I. During that time, he was the only prominent public figure to demand a declaration of war against the Entente Powers. He came out of retirement during the German occupation of Romania, when he inspired fellow Conservative Lupu Kostaki to set up a collaborationist territorial government. This final project caused his fall into disgrace once the legitimate government regained control.