Ioan Lazăr Kalinderu (born Calenderoglu,Nicolae Iorga, "Molière și Romînii. Comunicație comemorativă la Academia Romînă", in Revista Istorică, Nr. 1–3/1922, p. 5 also known as Iancu Kalinderu, Ioan Kelenderu, Ioanŭ Calenderu, or Jean Kalindéro;Baiculescu et al., p. 793; Teodorescu et al, pp. 849–853 December 28 or 29, 1840 – December 11, 1913) was a Wallachian, later Romanian jurist and confidant of King Carol I, who served for thirty years as the administrator of crown domains, and for three years as president of the Romanian Academy. Educated in France, he was the son of a rich and influential Greek-Romanian banker, Lazăr Kalenderoglu, and the brother of physician Nicolae Kalinderu. Like them, he was a sympathizer of the National Liberal Party, with which he debuted in politics in the 1880s.
Kalideru was an expert in Roman law, but his attempts in the field, as well as his later studies in the history of Ancient Rome, are generally seen as minor contributions. His overall competence as an interpreter of law was questioned following his handling of the Strousberg Affair, although he served on the Court of Cassation and on international bodies of experts. Kalinderu stayed on as Carol's legal adviser, also helping him in direct negotiations with the National Liberal and Conservative political machines, and was several times considered for the office of Prime Minister.
As administrator for the crown, Kalinderu enacted his vision of rural improvement, setting up model farms and a cottage industry, promoting literacy and the arts, and encouraging entrepreneurship. He viewed these methods as a working alternative to land reform, defending property rights during and after the peasants' revolt of 1907. He was praised for his passion and dedication, but also criticized for the uncertainty of their outcome. In addition to his agrarian project and his social work, Kalinderu played a significant part in promoting mountaineering and modern forestry, set up the resort of Bușteni, and created his own art museum. A picturesque figure with eccentric customs, and often regarded as snobbish and servile, he became a stock character for the writers and cartoonists at Furnica magazine. His unfulfilled promise to donate his fortune to the public bled into a posthumous scandal which lasted into the interwar years.
Biography
Origins and early life Born in Bucharest on December 28 or 29, 1840,"Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les associés élus à Heidelberg", in Annuaire de l'Institut de Droit International, 1888, p. 382Corneliu Olaru, Vladimir Iovanov, Un secol de economie românească, 1848–1947, p. 149. Bucharest: Editura NEWA T.E.D., 2001. Amuliu Proca, "Simpozionul Academicianul Ioan Kalinderu, administratorul Domeniilor Coroanei, la 100 de ani de la dispariție", in Univers Ingineresc, Nr. 1/2014 his father was Lazăr (Lazaros) Kalenderoglu (or Calenderoglu). Of possible Smyrniote origin, Simina Stan, "Muzeul Kalinderu, o restaurare fără sfărșit", in Jurnalul Național, December 19, 2009 the family functioned as one of the largest banking and exporting institutions in Wallachia, and then in the United Principalities.Zane, pp. 332, 377, 402 Lazăr had risen into the ranks of Wallachia's boyar nobility: joining the Bucharest local government in 1838, 1844, and 1847, he was awarded the title of pitar,Lahovari et al., pp. 6–7. See also Gheorghe G. Bibescu, Domnia lui Bibescu. Tomul al doilea: Legi și decrete, 1843–1848; Răsvrătirea din 1848: istoria și legenda, pp. 275–276. Bucharest: Typografia Curții Regale, F. Göbl Fii, 1894 advancing to paharnic in the 1850s.Ionașcu, p. 241 His son would later falsely claim that the Kalenderoglus played a part in the Wallachian Revolution of 1848,Titu Maiorescu (ed. Stelian Neagoe), Istoria politică a României sub domnia lui Carol I, p. 273. Bucharest: Humanitas, 1994. although Lazăr is known to have held relevant positions in the National Party in 1857, briefly serving as its chairman alongside Constantin A. Kretzulescu.Vasile Maciu, "Organizarea mișcarii pentru Unire în anii 1855–1857 în Moldova și Țara Românească", in Studii. Revistă de Istorie, Nr. 1/1959, p. 69 The last-ever tenant and tax collector of Predeal customs, Kalenderoglu had his estate in Olt County, outside Colonești, reduced during the land reform of 1864.Lahovari et al., pp. 476, 565 Another of his estates, at Bălcești, was repurchased by the Bălcescu boyars.Cornelia Bodea, Paul Cernovodeanu, Horia Nestorescu-Bălcești, Vatra Bălceștilor. Studii și documente, p. 30. Bălcești pe Topolog: Nicolae Bălcescu Memorial Museum, 1971. However, he still left Ioan the manor of Schitu-Greci.Ionașcu, pp. 232, 240–242; Ion D. Tîlvănoiu, "Câteva date noi despre familia gazetarului N. T. Orășanu" , in Memoria Oltului și Romanaților, Nr. 3/2015, p. 8 Costel Vasilescu, "File din istoria răscoalei țărănești de la 1907" , in Memoria Oltului și Romanaților, Nr. 11/2015, p. 39
Although a Wallachian native and relatively assimilated,Zane, p. 332. See also Bellessort, pp. 849, 852 Lazăr was sometimes regarded as an ethnic Turk, owing to his Turkish-sounding surname,Alinuța Cofan, "Pamfletul arghezian sau 'arta de a spurca frumos' (II)", in Caiete Critice, Nr. 7/2013, p. 56 or an Armenian.Alexandru Candiano-Popescu (ed.: Constantin Corbu), Amintiri din viața-mi, p. 145. Bucharest: Editura Eminescu, 1998. He identified as Greek-Romanian and, as late as 1879, was ktitor of an eponymous Greek Orthodox church in Bucharest. His fully assimilated son later barred the Greek colony from attending the church, and rededicated it to Romanian Orthodoxy.Cornelia Papacostea-Danielopolu, "La vie culturelle de la communauté grecque de Bucarest dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle", in Revue Des Études Sud-est Européennes, Nr. 2/1969, pp. 318–319 According to polemicist Alexandru Candiano-Popescu, the future Ioan Kalinderu was snobbish and "could not bear his descent from some obscure lineage"; he therefore claimed Eastern Roman descent, "having found a name that matched his own" in the books of Joseph von Hammer. Ioan and his brother Nicolae were educated in Greek, before graduating high school in Bucharest.
Ioan studied law at the University of Paris. Taking his license degree with a study of dowries in Roman law (1860), and earning a doctorate with a thesis on ex post facto laws (De la non-rétroactivité des lois, 1864),Teodorescu et al, pp. 849, 850–851 he returned home to take up positions as a judge, serving as the first president of Bucharest Tribunal. He then became a counselor with the Court of Cassation.Tache Soroceanu, "Artistice. Muzeul Kalinderu: ctitorul și opera", in Ilustrațiunea Română, Nr. 26/1934, p. 14 From 1872, the Ministry of Justice employed him as an adviser for penal reform, alongside Vasile Boerescu, Nicolae Mandrea, Grigore Păucescu, Mihail Pherekyde and Grigore Triandafil. Boerescu referred to Kalinderu as "a man of the new world, with very progressive ideas, and an excellent jurisconsult."Vasile Boerescu, Discursuri politice, 1859—1883. Volumul II: 1874—1883, p. 110. Bucharest: Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co., 1910 At the time, his family was involved with the liberal-radical movement. Brother Nicolae, a Paris-trained physician, became one of the founders of the National Liberal Party in 1875.Bacalabașa I, pp. 146, 153, 171, 258 The aged Kalenderoglu was founder of Creditul Rural, a credit union for the benefit of peasants, alongside major liberal figures.Bacalabașa I, p. 115; Zane, p. 375
In 1875, Ioan also joined the National Liberals in opposing the concession of the Predeal railway to the Englishman George Crawley; alongside party leaders Ion Brătianu and Dimitrie Sturdza, he created an investment firm that tried to compete with Crawley for the contract.Bacalabașa I, pp. 168–169 Kalinderu advanced on the public scene following the Strousberg Affair, during which Romania purchased back her railways from the bankrupt Prussian investor B. H. Strousberg. In February 1880, he and Strudza were dispatched to Berlin to negotiate payment of Strousberg's government bonds with the Imperial German authorities."Télégraphie privée (sérvice télégraphique de l'agence Havas)", in Journal des Débats, February 29, 1880, p. 1 In April, Domnitor Carol I appointed him on the Princely Commission for the Administration of Railways, the embryonic Căile Ferate Române. The other members of this directorial triumvirate were Eugeniu Stătescu and Ștefan Fălcoianu.Constantin Gheorghe, Miliana Șerbu, Miniștrii de interne (1862–2007). Mică enciclopedie, p. 95. Bucharest: Romanian Ministry of the Interior, 2007. Kalinderu maintained his office in Berlin until 1882, representing the newly established Kingdom of Romania. In 1882, he published a French-language tome dealing specifically with the legal implications of the Strousberg Affair: De la compétence des tribunaux et particulièrernent des tribunaux prussiens dans toute contestation relative aux biens mobiliers qu'un état étranger peut posséder en Prusse.Teodorescu et al, p. 849
As noted at the time by Titu Maiorescu, Kalinderu was responsible for placing his government in a humiliating position, and it was surprising that such a mission was entrusted to so unqualified an individual. Brătianu, who had taken over as Prime Minister, arrived in Berlin to personally supervise the negotiations, reportedly because the hastiness on the German side to seal off the deal "inspired in him grave disquietude".Documents diplomatiques français, 1871–1914. 1re série (1871–1900); Tome III (2 janvier 1880 – 13 mai 1881), p. 58. Paris: Alfred Costes & L'Europe Nouvelle, 1931 According to one account, he viewed Kalinderu as incompetent, arranging for Eugeniu Carada to replace him as the actual negotiator, in all but name.Theodorian-Carada, pp. 86–88 Nevertheless, Kalinderu's authority in international law was recognized following his employment by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.Pădurean, p. 77 From 1888, he was also an associate member of the Institut de Droit International.
Kalinderu earned additional favors from Carol I, crowned King of Romania, who appointed him his adviser on legal and agricultural matters. For a while, he served as administrator of the state-owned forest and fields. In June 1884, Kalinderu was named the first administrator of crown domains, which had been set aside by organic law,Mihaesco, pp. 196–197 resigning from his position at the railways company in December 1885."Informațiuni", in Epoca, December 22, 1885, p. 3 Owned by the state and managed by the House of Hohenzollern (through Kalinderu), the domains originally included twelve country estates and two mountains of the Southern Carpathians: Clăbucetul Taurului and Caraiman. During the first years of his new assignment, Kalinderu tried to pursue a parallel career in politics. He ran for Bucharest Council in 1886, second on the National Liberal list."Candidații Partidului național-liberal pentru alegerile comunale din Capitală", in Voința Națională, November 2/14, 1886, p. 1 He withdrew upon winning, citing his "many other engagements"."Ultime informațiunĭ", in Voința Națională, November 6/18, 1886, p. 3 During the election of 1888, "I. Calenderoglu" ran at Olt as an independent, but lost, collecting 55 of 165 votes."Resultatul alegerei Col. I", in Epoca, October 14/26, 1888, p. 1 He eventually handled the purchase of Strousberg railways, negotiating a loan for 175 million lei in 1889. In 1891, following the resignation of a Conservative Party government under Gheorghe Manu, Carol reportedly proposed Kalinderu as Prime Minister of an independent cabinet. This maneuver was rejected by the opposition National Liberals—the refusal was instigated by a moribund Brătianu.Theodorian-Carada, pp. 106, 125
Academy presidency