born Jan. 26, 1918, Scorniceşti, Rom.
died Dec. 25, 1989, near Bucharest
Romanian politician.
Prominent in the Romanian Communist Party, in 1965 he succeeded Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej as the party's leader. In 1967 he became head of state and in 1974 president of Romania. He charted an independent, nationalistic course but also maintained rigidly repressive controls over free speech and internal dissent. His harsh economic policies and grand building projects reduced Romania from relative prosperity to near starvation. He was overthrown in a revolution in 1989, and, after a hasty trial, he and his wife were executed by firing squad.
Ceauescu
Pictorial Parade
EB Inc.