2. o Octavian Goga (1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was
a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and
translator.
o Goga was born in Rasinari, near Sibiu.
3. Goga became Prime Minister of Romania and served
from 28 December 1937 to 10 February 1938. He had
been appointed by King Carol, in his attempt to
increase his own power. Indeed, Carol wrote in his
diary that he knew Goga was a human cipher, and
hoped that once his government collapsed, it would
Logo of the defunct Romanian National
Christian Party.The initials of the party feature
alongside the names of its joint leaders: A. C.
Cuza and Octavian Goga
4. Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalistic movement in Transylvania and of
its leading group, the Romanian National Party (PNR) in Austro-Hungary. Before World
War I, Goga was arrested by the Hungarian authorities. At various intervals before the
union of Romania and Transylvania in 1918, Goga took refuge in Romania, becoming
active in literary and political circles. Because of his political activity in Romania, the
Hungarian state sentenced him to death in absentia.
5. Very early in its tenure, Goga's government introduced a series of anti-
Semitic laws. On 12 January 1938 his government stripped Romanian Jews of
their citizenship. Besides being an anti-Semite himself, Goga attempted to
outflank the Iron Guard's popular support.
After his resignation, Goga withdrew to his estate in Transylvania, where he
suffered a stroke on 5 May 1938. He died two days later.
