Ion Mihalache - Early Life

Early Life

A schoolteacher born into a peasant family of Topoloveni, he served as a lieutenant in the Romanian Army during World War. Mihalache, who soon became popular among Orthodox priests and village teachers, served as president of the local teachers' association.

He founded the PŢ in the Romanian Old Kingdom in 1918; under his leadership, it emerged out of northern Muntenia and became a grouping with national appeal. The PŢ had much success in the elections of November 1919, forming a coalition government with the Transylvanian Romanian National Party (PNR), under Alexandru Vaida-Voevod. As a politician, Mihalache made himself known for supporting a political option that mixed traditionalist reserve towards industrialization and calls for preserving the rural base of Romanian economy through voluntary cooperative farming (allowing for a peasant-based industry) with a vision of left-wing Corporatism. In 1929, he wrote:

"Many have thought that was only possible for the large-scale agricultural entrepreneur. And this is why they have supported that only on the basis of large-scale property can there be carried out a wise and lucrative agriculture, and that dividing the land leads to a decrease in production.
Perhaps it would be this way, if the small-scale agricultural entrepreneur will not 'organize' himself and will not enlighten himself.
But the cure was found: the association of peasants into agricultural cooperatives, which bring: money, as well as utensils, as well as regulated sales, as well as industrialization."

He notably took the initiative in calling for peaceful marches of peasants and members of the rural intelligentsia, and would almost always dress in accordance with the peasant tradition of his native Muscel County.