Nicolae Ceaușescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu (8 February [O.S. 26 January] 1918 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last leader of Communist Romania as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 until his overthrow and execution in 1989. He was also the country's head of state from 1967 to 1989, serving as President of the State Council from 1967 to 1974 and as President of the Republic from 1974 until 1989.

Born in Scornicești, Ceaușescu joined the Romanian Communist Party in his teens and was repeatedly imprisoned under the pre-war and wartime regimes for his communist activism. After World War II, he rose through the party ranks under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, the country’s leader, whom he succeeded as general secretary.

Upon taking power, Ceaușescu eased press censorship and condemned the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in his speech of 21 August 1968, which resulted in a surge in popularity. However, this period of liberalisation was brief, as his regime soon became more rigid. It was widely considered to be one of the most repressive states in the Eastern Bloc. His secret police, the Securitate, was responsible for mass surveillance as well as severe repression within the country, and controlled the media and press. Ceaușescu's attempts to implement policies that would lead to a significant growth of the population led to a growing number of illegal abortions and increased the number of orphans in state institutions. Economic mismanagement due to failed oil ventures during the 1970s led to the accumulation of significant foreign debts. His efforts to repay the debts through austerity were effective, but extremely unpopular. His cult of personality experienced unprecedented elevation, followed by the deterioration of foreign relations, even with the Soviet Union.