Nicolae Ceaușescu

General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party

5 February 1918 Scornicești, Olt County, Kingdom of Romania

25 December 1989(1989-12-25) (71) Târgoviște, Socialist Republic of Romania

22 March 1965 – 22 December 1989

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Find sources: "Nicolae Ceaușescu" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2021 ) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Tovarășul Președinte Nicolae CeaușescuOfficial photo of Ceaușescu from 1965General Secretary of the Romanian Communist PartyIn office 22 March 1965 – 22 December 1989Preceded by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-DejSucceeded by Position abolished1st President of RomaniaIn office 28 March 1974 – 22 December 1989Prime Minister Manea Mănescu Ilie Verdeț Constantin Dăscălescu Preceded by Position establishedSucceeded by National Salvation Front Council (interim)President of the State CouncilIn office 9 December 1967 – 22 December 1989Prime Minister Ion Gheorghe Maurer Manea Mănescu Ilie Verdeț Constantin Dăscălescu Preceded by Chivu StoicaSucceeded by Office abolished Additional positions Member of the Presidium of the Great National AssemblyIn office 31 May 1950 – 3 October 1955PresidentConstantin Ion Parhon Petru GrozaDeputy Minister at the Ministry of National DefenceIn office 1950–1954Prime Minister Petru Groza Gheorghe Gheorghiu-DejMinisterEmil BodnărașDeputy Minister at the Ministry of AgricultureIn office 1949–1950Prime Minister Petru GrozaMinisterVasile VaidaState Under Secretary at the Ministry of AgricultureIn office 13 May 1948 – 1949Prime Minister Petru GrozaMinisterVasile VaidaMember of the Central Committee of the Communist PartyIn office 21 October 1945 – 22 December 1989First Secretary of the Union of Communist YouthIn office 23 August 1944 – June 1945Succeeded by Constantin DrăgoescuFirst Secretary of the Olt Regional Committee of the Communist PartyIn office December 1946 – May 1948First Secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-DejMember of the Great National AssemblyIn office 28 March 1948 – 30 November 1952ConstituencyOlt CountyIn office 30 November 1952 – 2 March 1969ConstituencyPitești RegionIn office 2 March 1969 – 22 December 1989ConstituencyBucharestMember of the Assembly of DeputiesIn office 19 November 1946 – 25 February 1948ConstituencyOlt County Personal detailsBorn(1918-02-05 ) 5 February 1918 (Old Style: 23 January) Scornicești, Olt County, Kingdom of RomaniaDied 25 December 1989(1989-12-25) (aged 71) Târgoviște, Socialist Republic of RomaniaCause of deathExecution by firing squadResting placeGhencea Cemetery, Bucharest, RomaniaNationalityRomanianPolitical partyRomanian Communist Party (1932–1989)Spouse(s)Elena Petrescu ​ ​(m. 1947; died 1989)​Children Valentin Zoia Nicu Known forCult of personalitySystematizationAusterity policy21 August 1968 speechDecree 770SignatureMilitary serviceAllegiance  Romania Branch/serviceRomanian ArmyYears of service1950–1954Rank Lieutenant generalBattles/warsRomanian Revolution Criminal conviction Conviction(s) GenocideTrialTrial and execution of Nicolae and Elena CeaușescuCriminal penaltyCapital punishmentDetailsVictimsRomanian dissidents a. ^ Primarily the Romanian rural systematization program b. ^ Resulting in the successful repayment of Romania's entire external debt Nicolae Ceaușescu (/tʃ aʊ ˈ ʃ ɛ s k uː / chow-SHESK -oo, Romanian:  ( listen ) ; 5 February  1918 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was also the country's head of state from 1967, serving as President of the State Council and from 1974 concurrently as President of the Republic, until his overthrow and execution in the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, part of a series of anti-Communist and anti-Soviet uprisings in Eastern Europe that year. Born in 1918 in Scornicești, Olt County, Ceaușescu was a member of the Romanian Communist youth movement. Ceaușescu rose up through the ranks of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's Socialist government and, upon Gheorghiu-Dej's death in 1965, he succeeded to the leadership of the Romanian Communist Party as general secretary. Upon his rise to power, he eased press censorship and openly condemned the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in his speech on 21 August 1968, which resulted in a surge in popularity. However, the resulting period of stability was brief as his government soon became totalitarian and was considered the most repressive in the Eastern Bloc at the time. His secret police, the Securitate, was responsible for mass surveillance as well as severe repression and human rights abuses within the country, and controlled the media and press. Economic mismanagement due to failed oil ventures during the 1970s led to skyrocketing foreign debts for Romania. Ceaușescu's attempts to implement policies that would lead to a significant growth of the population led to a growing number of unsafe abortions and increased the number of orphans in state institutions. In 1982, Ceaușescu directed the government to export much of the country's agricultural and industrial production in an effort to repay these debts. The shortages that followed drastically lowered living standards, leading to heavy rationing of food, water, oil, heat, electricity, medicine and other necessities. His cult of personality experienced unprecedented elevation, followed by extensive nepotism and the intense deterioration of foreign relations, even with the Soviet Union. As anti-government protesters demonstrated in Timișoara in December 1989, he perceived the demonstrations as a political threat and ordered military forces to open fire on 17 December, causing many deaths and injuries. The revelation that Ceaușescu was responsible resulted in a massive spread of rioting and civil unrest across the country. The demonstrations, which reached Bucharest, became known as the Romanian Revolution—the only violent overthrow of a communist government in the course of the Revolutions of 1989. Ceaușescu and his wife Elena fled the capital in a helicopter, but they were captured by the military after the armed forces defected. After being tried and convicted of economic sabotage and genocide, both were sentenced to death, and they were immediately executed by firing squad on 25 December. Ceaușescu was succeeded as president by Ion Iliescu, who had played a major part in the revolution. Capital punishment in Romania was abolished shortly thereafter.