Editing Take Ionescu (section)

===Romanian Campaign===
The country subsequently suffered a series of defeats and all its southern areas were occupied by the Central Powers (''see [[Romanian Campaign (World War I)|Romanian Campaign]]''). Ionescu followed Romanian authorities into refuge to the provisional capital of [[Iaşi]],<ref name="xeni"/><ref name="lacusta"/><ref name="dobrinunomdestat"/> being hosted by C. Konya, a well-known pharmacist whose house was near the [[University of Iaşi|local university]].<ref name="xeni"/> Ionescu's house on Bucharest's Atena Street was ransacked and partly vandalized by German troops — [[Constantin Argetoianu]] recounted that this was accomplished "methodically", and constituted "an exception" to the German administration's "scrupulous respect for private property".<ref name="argetoianu">[[Constantin Argetoianu]], "Memorii" ("Memoirs"; fragment), in ''[[Magazin Istoric]]'', March 1968</ref> According to Take Ionescu himself, his lodging had been destroyed on special orders from [[August von Mackensen]] in December 1916<ref name="lacusta"/> (he also contrasted this action with his promise to protect the property of former German ambassador, [[Hilmar von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen]], after he had left Bucharest earlier in the same year).<ref name="lacusta"/>

He was brought to office as a Vice-[[List of Prime Ministers of Romania|Premier]] and Minister Secretary of State ([[Minister without portfolio]]), in a [[War Cabinet]] headed by the PNL's leader Brătianu, serving between July 1917 and January 1918.<ref name="rompres"/> According to Xeni, Ionescu's advocacy of an Entente alliance had made him the target of intense criticism, at a time when the territory still controlled by Romanian authorities was suffering major hardships, and replied that "war had to be made".<ref name="xeni"/> At the same time, he and the premier agreed on the principles of [[Electoral reform|electoral]] and [[land reform]] to be carried out in a future Romania, as the Conservatives appeared destined to lose appeal.<ref name="dobrinunomdestat"/>

Romania ultimately signed a [[Treaty of Bucharest, 1918|peace treaty with the Central Powers]] in 1918 — soon after, Ionescu received approval to leave for Paris and London. While passing through [[Ploieşti]], his native city, he was reportedly [[Booing|booed]] by a crowd of opponents.<ref name="dobrinunomdestat"/> After the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice with Germany]], which signaled a change in fortunes, he began actively campaigning for the international recognition of [[Union of Transylvania with Romania|Romania's union with Transylvania]] as advanced by the [[Romanian National Party]], creating the National Romanian Council, grouping politicians from several regions, many of whom had opposed the separate peace (these included the Transylvanians [[Octavian Goga]] and [[Vasile Lucaciu]]), and supporting an anti-Hungarian alliance of Balkan states that played a part in creating the [[Little Entente]].<ref name="xeni"/><ref name="dobrinunomdestat"/><ref name="bonsal"/>

In December, Ionescu met with Venizelos and the [[First Republic of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak]] leader [[Tomáš Masaryk]] to discuss a common approach; expressing support for [[Eastern Europe]]an alliances while commenting on the unresolved dispute involving Romania and the [[Kingdom of Serbia]], Masaryk confided in [[Stephen Bonsal]] that: "Solutions are still beyond our immediate reach, but I am confident that we have cleared ground for the co-operation at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Peace Conference]]".<ref name="bonsal"/>

Despite his intense activism, he was denied a presence in the Romanian delegation to the Conference,<ref name="xeni"/> owing to his renewed conflict with Prime Minister Brătianu.<ref name="xeni"/><ref name="bonsal"/> This followed a major disagreement in policy, after the National Liberals decided not to accept all Allied resolution on principle, and instead to renegotiate Romania's position on the international stage.<ref name="scurtuculegi">Ioan Scurtu, "'Politica: (...) culegi mai multă nedreptate decât răsplată'. Rolul politic al Brătienilor în istoria României" ("'Politics: (...) One Reaps More Injustices Than Rewards'. The Political Role of the Brătianus in Romania's History"), in ''Dosarele Istoriei'', 1/VI, 2001, p. 13</ref> In December 1919, answering to concerns that he was leading a risky path, Brătianu spoke out in Parliament against what he saw as demeaning "the role [the Romanian people] should have in the world".<ref name="scurtuculegi"/>

Following Bessie Ionescu's death in a horse-riding accident, Ionescu married Alexandrina Ecaterina Woroniecki in 1919<ref name="dobrinunom"/> (she was also known as ''Adina Olmazu'').<ref name="lacusta"/> Also in that year, he published a volume of [[French language|French-language]] essays and memoirs; going through an English edition, it was first published in Romania in 1923.<ref name="lacusta"/>