Kogǎlniceanu, Mihail (1817–1891)

Romanian liberal politician and historian, prime minister of Romania 1862–65. During his term of office, he introduced many reforms, including compulsory elementary education, seizure of land from the monasteries, the introduction of a civil law code, and the emancipation of the serfs.

Kogǎlniceanu studied in Paris and wrote, at the age of 20, his Histoire de la Valachie et de la Moldavie/History of Wallachia and Moldavia, in which he called for unification of the two principalities. This and other highly nationalistic writings helped pave the way for the revolution of 1848 in Romania.