Ceaușism
| Nicolae Ceaușescu | |
|---|---|
Official photo of Nicolae Ceaușescu from 1981
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General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party (to 24 July 1965 as First Secretary of the Romanian Workers' Party) |
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In office 22 March 1965 – 22 December 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| 1st President of Romania | |
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In office 28 March 1974 – 22 December 1989 |
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| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ion Iliescu |
| President of the State Council | |
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In office 9 December 1967 – 22 December 1989 |
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| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Chivu Stoica |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 January 1918 Scornicești, Olt, Romania |
| Died |
25 December 1989 (aged 71) Târgoviște, Dâmbovița, Romania |
| Resting place | Ghencea Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Political party | Romanian Communist Party |
| Spouse(s) | Elena Petrescu (m. 1947–1989) |
| Children | |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Socialist Republic of Romania
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| Service/branch | Romanian Army |
| Years of service | 1948–1989 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant General
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Nicolae Ceaușescu (Romanian: [nikoˈla.e t͡ʃe̯a.uˈʃesku] (
listen); 26 January 1918 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian Communist politician. He was general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and hence 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, from 1974 concurrently as President of the Republic, until his overthrow in the Romanian Revolution in 1989.
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 the death of Gheorghiu-Dej in 1965, he succeeded to the leadership of Romania’s 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 21 August speech of 1968, which resulted in a surge in his popularity. The period of stability was very brief, however; his government very shortly later became severely repressive and authoritarian, and was considered by far the most Stalinist in Eastern Europe. His secret police, the Securitate, were responsible for mass surveillance as well as severe repression and human rights abuses within the country, and he suppressed and controlled the media and press implementing methods that were among the harshest, most restrictive and brutal in the world. Economic mismanagement due to failed oil ventures during the 1970s led to skyrocketing foreign debts for Romania; in 1982, he exported much of the country's agricultural and industrial production in an effort to repay the 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.
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