Before World War II Dămăceanu was born in the village of
Cosmești, in
Galați County,
Romania. He attended the
Costache Negruzzi Boarding High School of
Iași, and then the Military School for Cavalry Officers in
Târgoviște, graduating in 1916 with the rank of second lieutenant. He then fought in the
Romanian campaign of
World War I with the 6th Regiment
Roșiori. After the war, he pursued his military education at
Infantry Officer School in
Sibiu (1923) and the
Military Academy of
Turin (1929). helmet worn by Dămăceanu as military attaché to
Italy and
Albania In between the world wars, he was
military attaché in
Rome, Italy, director at the Voievodul Mihai School, and
adjutant to
King Carol II. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1938 and colonel in 1940.
During World War II From 1941 to 1942 he was commanding officer of the 10th Roșiori Cavalry Regiment, fighting on the
Eastern Front. From 1942 to 1944 he was Chief of Staff of the Capital Military Command. He was awarded the
Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class in October 1941 and the
Order of the Star of Romania, Officer class, in July 1942.
August 23, 1944 coup d'état Colonel Dămăceanu participated in the
August 23, 1944 coup d'état led by King
Michael I against the government of
Marshal Ion Antonescu. He organized and coordinated the military actions and resistance in Bucharest. On August 29, he was promoted to brigadier general. By the end of August 1944, he travelled to
Moscow with a Romanian delegation; they were received by
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov on August 30 or 31. On September 12, 1944, General Dămăceanu was one of the
plenipotentiary signatories of the Armistice Agreement between Romania and the
Soviet Union (the other signatories were
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, , and
Barbu Știrbey on the Romanian side, and
Rodion Malinovsky on the Soviet side).
Paris Peace Conference February 10 In 1946, he was a member of the
Gheorghe Tătărescu-led Romanian delegation to the
Paris World War II Peace Conference. The Peace Treaty with Romania was signed in
Paris on February 10, 1947, in the Salon de l'Horloge of the
Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. On the Romanian side, the four signatories were
Gheorghe Tătărescu (Council Vice-President),
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (Minister of Justice),
Ștefan Voitec (Minister of National Education), and Dămăceanu (Under-Secretary – Ministry of War). Other signatories included
James F. Byrnes (US Secretary of State, for the
United States), Vyacheslav Molotov (Foreign Affairs Minister, for the Soviet Union), and
Ernest Bevin (Foreign Affairs Secretary, for the
United Kingdom).
1944–1947 In August 1946 he advanced in rank to
major general. Later on, Dămăceanu was promoted to
colonel general. as does a street in his native town. ==Private life==