Romania
Alexandru Averescu
1859–1938 Commander of Romania's Second Army, 1916–1917; Prime Minister, 1918
Alexandru Averescu rose to sergeant as a volunteer in the Romanian War of Independence, then trained as an officer at Mănăstirea Dealu and in Turin. He became a brigadier general in 1906 and was Minister of War from 1907 to 1909, when peasant revolts shook Romania. After Romania entered the war in 1916 he commanded the Second Army, apart from a short period leading Army Group South, and in 1917 won the victory at Mărăști, which helped block the German advance toward Iași. As prime minister in early 1918 he negotiated with the Central Powers and soon resigned. He later led the People's Party, served twice more as prime minister, became Marshal of Romania in 1930, and died in October 1938.