Constantin C. Arion

Constantin C. Arion
Arion in 1918
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania
In office March 5, 1918 – October 23, 1918
Monarch	Ferdinand I
Preceded by	Alexandru Averescu
Succeeded by	Constantin Coandă
Minister of Administration and Interior of Romania
In office March 28, 1912 – October 14, 1912
Monarch	Carol I of Romania
Preceded by	Alexandru Marghiloman
Succeeded by	Take Ionescu
Minister of Religion and Public Instruction
In office July 7, 1900 – February 13, 1901
Preceded by	Constantin Istrati
Succeeded by	Spiru Haret
In office December 29, 1910 – October 14, 1912
Preceded by	Spiru Haret
Succeeded by	Constantin G. Dissescu
Minister of Agriculture and Royal Domains
In office April 5, 1913 – December 31, 1913
Preceded by	Ioan Lahovary
Succeeded by	Alexandru Constantinescu-Porcu
Personal details
Born	(1855-06-18)June 18, 1855 Bucharest
Died	June 27, 1923(1923-06-27) (aged 68) Bucharest

Constantin C. Arion (also known as Costică Arion;^[1][2] June 18, 1855 – June 27, 1923) was a Romanian politician, affiliated with the National Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and, after 1918, the People's Party. He served two terms as Minister of Religion and Public Instruction, one term as Minister of Agriculture, and another one as Interior Minister before World War I. His career peaked in 1918, when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A young lawyer who supported political reform, Arion moved progressively to the right, and, ca. 1885, became involved with the political club Junimea. As a Conservative policymaker and disciple of Alexandru Marghiloman, he rewrote legislation on education reform and brought the Romanian Orthodox Church under the control of its high clergy. Like Marghiloman, Arion supported the Central Powers during most of World War I, a position which seemed to carry most weight during the 1918 armistice. His participation in the Marghiloman government recovered for Romania the region of Bessarabia, but the subsequent return of Ententist forces made him a political suspect. He spent the remainder of his life as a marginal.

In addition to his presence in political life, Arion was an art patron, university professor, and philanthropist. He was the brother of Virgil Arion, and the father of Dinu C. Arion.