Dr. Ion G. Duca, premier of Roumania and head of the Liberal Party, was assassinated this afternoon by a student member of the anti-Semitic Iron Guard. Dr. Duca was mortally wounded as he was about to leave Sinaia, seat of the royal palace, to return to Bucharest after a conference with King Carol. His assassin fired four shots into Dr. Duca’s head from close range. The slaying of the man whom the Roumanian ruler had entrusted with the task of maintaining order in the turbulent nation and suppressing the Nazi factions which sought to capture the government was believed to have been in revenge for Dr. Duca’s suppression and outlawing of the militant anti-Semitic factions prior to the general election which took place last week.
News of the death of Dr. Duca came as a shock to the Roumanian public and as a great blow to Jewish hopes for a cessation of the virulent anti-Semitic campaign of violence which had been going on here. His death had been threatened by anti-Semitic leaders whom he had outlawed before the election. In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month, after he had been named as premier by Carol, succeeding Alexander Vaida-Voevod, Dr. Duca had pledged protection for the Jews and maintenance of order in the country. His Liberal Party slate was strongly supported by Jewish voters in the recent election
Dr. Ion G. Duca, Roumanian diplomat and politician, was born in Bucharest in 1879. He was educated at the University of Bucharest and took his LL.D degree at the University of Paris.
Following his graduation, Dr. Duca entered the field of journalism, becoming the Paris correspondent of the Bucharest newspaper Universal. Later he occupied editorial posts on other Roumanian papers, achieving the repuation of a “brilliant journalist.”
In 1907, Dr. Duca entered the Roumanian parliament as a Liberal Deputy. In parliament, he became known as a brilliant speaker and a debater of note. Becoming one of the leaders of the Liberal party and a close associate of the Bratianu brothers, who headed the Liberal party, Dr. Duca was made Minister of Education in the Bratianu war time cabinet. He kept this post for four years, 1914-1918. In the Coalition Cabinet that replaced the Bratianu Ministry, Dr. Duca was once more named Minister of Agriculture. In 1922, when the Liberals returned to power, Dr. Duca became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
