Grigore IV Ghica

Grigore IV Ghica

Grigore IV Ghica or Grigore Dimitrie Ghica (June 30 1755–April 29 1834) was Prince of Wallachia between 1822 and 1828. A member of the Ghica family, Grigore IV was the brother of Alexandru Ghica and the uncle of Dora d'Istria.

Although his is ultimately an Albanian lineage and many of his relatives had occupied the throne in both Wallachia and Moldavia, the regime change after the Greek War of Independence, Tudor Vladimirescu's 1821 uprising and the Philikí Etaireía's brief rule in the two Danubian Principalities, led to Grigore IV being considered the first in a succession of non-Phanariote rulers. The elections for Prince in the Divan, although prescribed by the Akkerman Convention of 1826, were not to be organized, due mainly to precipitating events.

The Prince was ousted by the Russian occupation (see Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829).

Grigore IV Ghica was first married to Maria Hangerly, with whom he had six sons (Costache, Iorgu, Scarlat, Grigore, Panait, and Dimitrie), and then to Eufrosina Săvescu, with whom he had two daughters (Maria and Alexandrina).