Ioan Missir
| Ioan Missir | |
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Missir in army uniform
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| Mayor of Botoșani | |
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In office 1931–1932 |
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In office 1941–1944 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 17, 1890 West Hoboken, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | November 30, 1945 (aged 55) Botoșani, Kingdom of Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Political party | Democratic Nationalist Party |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician, novelist |
| Known for | World War I memoirs, being the last mayor of Botoșani before the Soviet occupation of Romania |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Romania |
| Service/branch | Romanian Land Forces |
| Years of service | 1916–1918 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 8th Light Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Romanian campaign (World War I) |
Ioan Missir (February 17, 1890 – November 30, 1945) was a Romanian lawyer, politician and novelist. Born in the United States, he was raised in his father's native country from early childhood. There, he took part in World War I as an officer, worked as a lawyer and rose in local politics to become mayor. Missir's wartime experience informed his only novel, the 1937 Fata Moartă, which proved a resounding critical and commercial success.
His father Bogdan came from a well-known Armenian family that included Petru Th. Missir. He married the Swiss schoolteacher Cécile Marchand, a native of Fribourg, and emigrated to the United States. Settling in Hudson County, New Jersey, he became a farmer; Ioan was the second of four children and was born in what was then West Hoboken, New Jersey (now part of Union City). The family business was only a moderate success; probably coupled with nostalgia, they returned home to Botoșani in 1894.
From 1897, Ioan Missir attended primary school there, followed by A. T. Laurian High School, from which he graduated in 1909. He subsequently enrolled in the law faculty of the University of Bucharest, completing it in 1913. For a time, he was secretary to his uncle Basile M. Missir, a prominent lawyer and politician. Disliking the role of lackey and perhaps bewildered by life in the capital city, he returned to the provincial Botoșani. (Missir had an abiding love for the town and the entire north of Moldavia; like his father, he enjoyed spending his free hours working the nearby vineyard they had inherited from a princely official.) He joined the local bar association but did not have very much time to practice law, as World War I was soon underway.
He volunteered and he was assigned with the rank of second lieutenant to the local light infantry (vânători) regiment. Sent to the Carpathian front, he took part in all the campaigns of 1916–1917. He eventually rose to the rank of captain, serving until his unit was demobilized after the Treaty of Bucharest.
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