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Quick Facts
- NAME: Nicolae Ceausescu
- OCCUPATION: World Leader
- BIRTH DATE: January 26, 1918
- DEATH DATE: December 25, 1989
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Scorniceti, Romania
- PLACE OF DEATH: Bucharest, Romania
- Full Name: Nicolae Ceausescu
Best Known For
Nicolae Ceausescu was the leader of Communist Romania for more than two decades until his execution in 1989.
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Nicolae Ceausescu - Mini Biography
Watch short biography of Nicolae Ceausescu who ruled Romania for almost 25 years. He was a communist leader who demanded subservience from his people.
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Play NowNicolae Ceausescu. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:31, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355.
Nicolae Ceausescu. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Nicolae Ceausescu." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 03:31 http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355.
"Nicolae Ceausescu," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Nicolae Ceausescu," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Nicolae Ceausescu [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355.
Nicolae Ceausescu, http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Nicolae Ceausescu. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/nicolae-ceausescu-38355. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Presiding with his wife Elena, whom he tapped as deputy prime minister, Ceausescu turned his back on Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and his calls for broad economic reform, and instead voiced his preference for traditional central planning. Shortly before losing power, Ceausescu caused panic throughout the country when he threatened to bulldoze rural settlements of less than 2,
000 people so that large agro-industrial centers could be constructed. His domestic rule also included surveillance of his citizens and violent reprisal against any dissent.
Loss of Power and Death
As Romania's standard of living failed to improve, Ceausescu's grip on power started to weaken. In November 1987, in a scene that would have been unthinkable just a few years before, thousands of workers stormed the Communist Party headquarters in Brasov. Records were destroyed, as was a grand portrait of Ceausescu.
Finally, in December of 1989, a popular revolt, aided by the army, pushed the Ceausescus from power and into the courtroom. As Romania wrestled with violence, the country's new leaders wanted to show the population that it no longer needed to worry about the Ceausescus.
On December 24, in a show trial that lasted less than an hour, the couple was charged with genocide and other crimes. Shortly after their conviction, the Ceausescus were led outside and executed by a firing squad. The two were buried at the Ghencea Cemetery in Bucharest.
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Erratic and Autocratic
View groupRuthless, corrupt and crazy. Many of the world's dicators started out as charismatic young leaders, with a large measure of support from their countrymen—only to become bloated with power and abandon the principles they had pledged to uphold. These leaders held on to power by rigidly enforcing control, intimidating opposition and instilling fear among citizens. With access to unlimited power and riches, many developed secretive personal lives and bizarre habits. These dictators terrorized their people, and mesmerized the world, with their bizarre sayings, styles, and actions. Biography.com takes a look at some of the world's most erratic, and autocratic, leaders.
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