Bibescu

Bibescu –kô [key], Romanian noble family. A prominent member was George Bibescu, 1804–73, prince of Walachia (1842–48). The first to be elected to his post, he effected important financial reforms but was driven from the county in the Revolution of 1848. His brother Barbu Bibescu, 1799–1869, was adopted by Prince Stirbei, a Romanian magnate, whose name he later assumed. He served as minister of the interior and subsequently was appointed hospodar [governor] of Walachia for a seven-year term (1849–56). In Feb., 1856, he decreed the abolition of slavery in Walachia.

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