The coffin of the last ruler of Moldova will be deposited at the Cotroceni Palace, President Nicușor Dan decided
Portrait of ruler Grigore Alexandru Ghica. Photo: The History Collection / Alamy / Profimedia (cropped)
The Presidential Administration announced that President Nicușor Dan decided that the coffin with the remains of Grigore Alexandru Ghica, the last lord of Moldova, be deposited, before the reburial in Iasi, at the Cotroceni Palace. Initially, the authorities had announced that the coffin would be deposited in the foyer of the National Opera in Bucharest.
“The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, has decided that, as a sign of deep respect and consideration for the memory of the last ruler of Moldova, the coffin with the remains of Grigore Alexandru Ghica will be placed on Sunday, November 9, 2025, in the Union Hall of the Cotroceni Palace,” the Presidential Administration's press release says.
The merits that Grigore Alexandru Ghica, lord of Moldova in 1849-1853 and 1854-1856, had in the creation and modernization of some institutions are cited as justification.
“He put the common good above his own interests, promoting modern principles of governance and social justice. During his reign, essential reforms for society were adopted, such as the emancipation of the Roma, the abolition of censorship or the reduction of commercial taxes. The establishment of the Romanian Gendarmerie, based on the French model, as well as the first public maternity hospital in the country, the Gregorian Institute, financed from personal funds, is linked to his name,” states the quoted source.
The Cotroceni Palace claims that the repatriation from Paris of the remains of Grigore Alexandru Ghica is “a gesture of moral restitution and appreciation of a unique personality”.
The remains of the last ruler of the Principality of Moldova, Grigore Alexandru Ghica, were exhumed from France on Friday, and will be brought to Bucharest this evening, in a Tarom race, the Romanian Gendarmerie announced.
VIDEO The remains of Grigore Alexandru Ghica are brought today from France, with a Tarom race
“A short time ago, in the cemetery in the town of Le Mée-sur-Seine in France, the religious ceremony of exhuming the remains of Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica, the last lord of Moldova and the founder of the Romanian Gendarmerie, took place,” the Romanian Gendarmerie said in a statement.
According to the press release, another moment took place at the headquarters of the Military Academy of the French National Gendarmerie where the French Republican Guard presented the military honor to the ruler, and the coffin was then placed on the main stage of the Academy.
“The guard that carried the coffin with the King's bones on its shoulders was made up of French gendarmes, as well as Romanian gendarmes from the Honor Guard of the Romanian Gendarmerie. The coffin with the mortal remains will arrive in Romania this evening, at 8:30 p.m., with a Tarom race and will be deposited at the “Saints Archangels Michael and Gavriil” Church from the headquarters of the General Inspectorate of of the Romanian Gendarmerie”, states the Romanian Gendarmerie.
After the deposit at the headquarters of the Inspectorate, the coffin should have been deposited, on Sunday, in the foyer of the National Opera, at 09.30, before the reburial in Iasi, near the Palace of Culture, but the president Nicușor Dan decided that the former ruler should be honored at the Cotroceni Palace.
