Constantin Banu

Constantin Gheorghe Banu (March 20, 1873 – September 8, 1940) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician, who served as Arts and Religious Affairs Minister in 1922–1923. He is remembered in literary history as the founder of ''Flacăra'' review, which he published in two editions, alongside Petre Locusteanu, Ion Pillat, Adrian Maniu, and, later, Vintilă Russu-Șirianu. A best-selling magazine for its time, it functioned as a launching pad for several writers of the Romanian Symbolist movement.

Banu was an affiliate and orator of the National Liberal Party, which he served continuously for 30 years, as a political journalist, public polemicist, and member of Parliament. His contribution as an essayist, lampoonist, and aphorist reflected his progressive approach to labor and productive life, his critique of conservatism, as well as his concept of civilized political mores.

Banu's career in politics reached the international level during World War I, when he took refuge from German-occupied Romania to campaign for the Romanian cause in Paris. Subsequently, during his term as minister, he focused on negotiating a Romanian Concordat and normalizing relations with the Catholic Church. In his final years in politics, he was an affiliate of the National Liberal Party-Brătianu. These activities, like much of his vast (but fragmentary) work in print, or his speeches, endured as the focus of political controversy. Provided by Wikipedia