Ilie Cătărău
Romanian political adventurer
- Born
- 1888, Orhei
- Died
- 1952, Transylvania
- Citizenship
- Romania
- Sport
- amateur wrestling
- Occupation
- drug trafficker, amateur wrestler, military officer, military personnel, spy
Ilie V. Cătărău (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈli.e kətəˈrəw], reportedly born Katarov, last name also Cătărău-Orhei; 21 July 1888 – c. 1955) was a Bessarabian-born political adventurer, soldier and spy, who spent parts of his life in the Kingdom of Romania. A mysterious figure, he is widely held to have been the main perpetrator of two bomb attacks, which sought to exacerbate tensions between Romania and Austria-Hungary in the buildup to World War I. Beyond his cover as a refugee from the Russian Empire, and his public commitment to Romanian nationalism, Cătărău was a double agent, working for both Russian and Romanian interests; he may also have been linked to the Black Hundreds. His terrorist actions, and especially the letter bomb which he sent to the Hungarian Catholic Bishopric in Debrecen, occurred shortly before, and are probably connected with, the Sarajevo Assassination.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Debrecen bombing |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q5998090 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.