Alecsandri, Vasile

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Vasile Alecsandri (väsē´lē älĕksän´drē), 1821–90, Romanian poet, dramatist, and statesman. He was (1858) provisional foreign minister and subsequently served in various diplomatic posts. Besides writing lyric poetry celebrated for the description of his native landscape, he published a notable collection of Romanian folk songs. His plays include Ovidiu (1890).