Nicolae Crețulescu

Who was Nicolae Crețulescu?

Nicolae Crețulescu was a Wallachian-born Romanian politician and physician. He served two terms as Prime Minister of Romania: from 1862 to 1863, and from 1865 to 1866. He was elected to the Romanian Academy.

Born in Bucharest, he studied medicine in Paris, having Gustave Flaubert as a colleague. As a physician, his notable work was the translation of Jean Cruveilhier's manual of anatomy.

A member of the Liberal faction, Creţulescu first became prime minister after the assassination of Barbu Catargiu, under Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He avoided debating the issue of land reform, at that time the most contentious subject in Romanian politics; instead, Crețulescu focused on unifying the public health system, creating the Directorate General of the Public Archive, and establishing a Council for Public Instruction. Additionally, he laid the groundwork for further laws secularizing the property of monasteries.