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Nicolae Ceauşescu

Historical Figure

Nicolae Ceauşescu

b. 1918

Leader of Romania from 1965 to 1989

Early 20th Century

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Biography

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician who led Romania as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 and as president from 1974 until his execution in 1989.

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In Their Own Words (5)

It is a lie that I made the people starve. A lie, a lie in my face. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed.… At no point was there such an upswing, so much construction, so much consolidation in the Romanian provinces. I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. I have done everything to create a decent and rich life for the people in the country, like in no other country in the world.

Dialectical materialism works like cocaine, let's say. If you sniff it once or twice, it may not change your life. If you use it day after day, though, it will make you into an addict, a different man.

We want to ensure a multilateral development of society, the thriving of all sides of social life, economy, science and culture, the improvement of management, the moulding of the new man and the promotion of socialist ethics and equity.

Stealing from capitalism is not like stealing out of our own pockets. Marx and Lenin have taught us that anything is ethical, so long as it is in the interest of the proletarian class and its world revolution.

There can be no justification to admit, in any way, the use of armed forced to intervene in the internal affairs of a WTO [Warsaw Treaty Organization] member country. The solving of domestic problems belongs exclusively to the Party and people of each country and any kind of interference can only do harm to the cause of socialism, friendship and collaboration among the socialist countries.

Timeline

The story of Nicolae Ceauşescu, told in moments.

1936 Life

Joined the Romanian Communist Party as a teenager. Arrested multiple times for distributing illegal pamphlets. Spent several years in prison, where he met Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.

1965 Event

Became General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party after Gheorghiu-Dej died. He was 47. He consolidated power quickly and cultivated a personality cult.

1974 Event

Named President of Romania. His wife Elena became his co-ruler in practice. They built the massive Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the heaviest building on Earth.

1989 Death

Executed by firing squad alongside Elena on Christmas Day. A hasty military tribunal convicted them both. The whole trial lasted about an hour.

More from the Early 20th Century

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