Gheorghe Chițu

Gheorghe Chițu (first name also George or Giorgiu, last name also Chițiu, Chitzu, Kițu or Kitzu; Francized as Georges Kitzou or Quitzou; 24 August 1828 – 27 October 1897) was a Wallachian, later Romanian lawyer, politician, and man of letters, whose activities were mostly centered on the region of Oltenia. The recipient of a classical education, which compensated for his middle-class background and allowed him to study at the University of Vienna, he was also deeply involved in the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 as an early adherent of "Red" liberalism. He became a propagandist and organizer for the National Party, founding Vocea Oltului gazette in 1857. Chițu was confirmed as the United Principalities' first-ever elected provincial mayor, at Craiova, where he also worked as a lawyer and prosecutor. His political radicalism and his participation in the Romanian Freemasonry were nuanced by his defense of the Romanian Orthodox Church against a reduction of its assets.

Serving for almost twenty years in the Assembly of Deputies and Senate, Chițu criticized Westernization and championed local political models, including Oltenia's Tudor Vladimirescu. His parallel work as a publicist and publisher resulted in noted collaborations with Constantin D. Aricescu, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, and Theodor Aman; it also contributed to his being inducted into the Romanian Academy in 1879. He is additionally remembered for his interest in the artistic reconstruction of two historical figures, Vladimirescu and Stephen the Great. Chițu fluctuated between the "Reds" and the Free and Independent Faction, being drawn into conspiratorial politics against Carol of Hohenzollern. With Alexandru Candiano-Popescu and Eugeniu Carada, he had a visible contribution to a failed insurrection in 1870. Some five years later, he joined Ion C. Brătianu in setting up the National Liberal Party, which seized power by peaceful means. He served Brătianu as an Education Minister, playing a part in the modernization and standardization of teaching, but also embracing controversy with his political favoritism.

Successively in the 1880s, in the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Romania, Chițu handled Finance, Justice, Internal Affairs, and again Education, earning respect for his indifference to graft and his hard stance on administrative incompetence. He also personally handled the repression of anti-Carol riots in 1884, after which, like Brătianu, he established a steady cooperation with conservatives grouped as the Junimea society. A lifelong alcoholic, Chițu reportedly had all his teeth extracted while inebriated, and was consequently struck by paralysis. He was left incapacitated and impoverished during the final decade of his life, which he spent on his only remaining estate, at Mirila. He had by then been shunned by the Craiova voters, as well as by his former friend Hasdeu, and had lost prospects of returning to the legal profession, ending his career as a representative of rural constituencies in Olt County. Oltenians honored his memory by assigning his name to Craiova's Commercial School. Several works of public arts were commissioned, including a since-lost bust by a young Constantin Brâncuși.