2.
Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Viktor Albert
Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927),
nicknamed Întregitorul ("the Unifier"), was
King of Romania from 10 October 1914
until his death in 1927.
3.
Ferdinand succeeded his uncle on
the latter's death (Carol I died
without surviving issue) as King
of Romania on 10 October 1914,
reigning until his own death on
20 July 1927.
He was the 1,174th Knight of the
Order of the Golden Fleece in
Austria in 1909 and the 868th
Knight of the Order of the Garter
in 1924.
King of Romania
4.
Though a member of a cadet branch
of Germany's ruling Hohenzollern
imperial family, Ferdinand
presided over his country's entry
into World War I on the side of the
Triple Entente powers against the
Central Powers on 27 August 1916.
Thus he gained the nickname the
Loyal, respecting his oath when
sworn in before the Romanian
Parliament in 1914: "I will reign as a
good Romanian.
World War I
5.
As a consequence of this "betrayal" toward his
German roots, Kaiser Wilhelm II had
Ferdinand's name erased from the
Hohenzollern House register.
Despite the setbacks after the entry into war,
when Dobruja and Wallachia were occupied
by the Central Powers, Romania fought in
1917 and stopped the German advance into
Moldavia. When the Bolsheviks sued for
peace in 1918, Romania was surrounded by
the Central Powers and forced to conclude the
Treaty of Bucharest, 1918. However,
Ferdinand refused to sign the treaty. When
the Allied forces advanced on the
Thessaloniki front, they knocked Bulgaria out
of the war, and Ferdinand ordered the re-
mobilization of the Romanian Army. Romania
re-entered the war on the side of the Triple
Entente.
6.
Domestic political life during his reign was
dominated by the conservative National Liberal
party led by the brothers Ion and Vintilă Brătianu.
The acquisition of Transylvania ironically enlarged
the electoral base of the opposition, whose principal
parties united in January 1925 – October 1926 to form
the National Peasant Party.
After the war
7.
Ferdinand died from cancer
in Sinaia in 1927, and was
succeeded by his grandson
Crown Prince Michael, under
a regency. The regency had
three members, one of whom
was Ferdinand's second son,
Prince Nicholas.
Death
