Bibescu or Bibesco, Romanian noble family. A prominent member was George Bibescu, 1804-73, prince of Walachia (1842-48). The first to be elected to his post, he effected important financial reforms but was driven from the county in the Revolution of 1848. His brother Barbu Bibescu, 1799-1869, was adopted by Prince Stirbei, a Romanian magnate, whose name he later assumed. He served as minister of the interior and subsequently was appointed hospodar [governor] of Walachia for a seven-year term (1849-56). In Feb., 1856, he decreed the abolition of slavery in Walachia.