Nicu Ceauşescu
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Nicu Ceauşescu (IPA /ˈni.ku ʧau.ˈʃes.ku/ (September 1, 1951 – September 25, 1996) was the third child of Romanian leader Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu. He was a close associate of his father's political regime and considered the President's heir apparent.
His older siblings were Valentin (adopted, b. 1948) and Zoia (1950-2006).
[edit] Life during the communist rule
He graduated Liceul no. 24 (nowadays named Jean Monnet High School) and then studied physics at the University of Bucharest. He was involved in Uniunea Tineretului Comunist while a student, becoming its First Secretary and then Minister of Youth Issues, being elected to the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party in 1982.[1]
As an apprentice in politics, he was mentored by Ştefan Andrei, Ion Traian Ştefănescu and Cornel Pacoste. Toward the end of the 1980s, he was made a member of the Executive Committee of the Romanian Communist Party and in 1987 its leader for Sibiu County, being prepared by his parents to be Nicolae Ceauşescu's successor. [1]
[edit] Postcommunist life and legacy
Nicu had a reputation of being a heavy drinker and a playboy since high school. He was also known for losing large sums of money gambling around the world. [1][2]
The documentary Videograms of a Revolution shows him exhibited as a prisoner on state television on December 22 1989, after he had been arrested on unlikely accusations of holding children as hostages and other crimes. He was also arrested in 1990 for misuse of Romanian government funds under his father's regime, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but he was released in November 1992 on health grounds. He died in 1996 at a Vienna hospital of cirrhosis.[2]
Controversy still surrounds his figure, since many people condemn anyone who participated in the communist regime, while others appreciate Nicu Ceasescu for his rather constructive role on numerous occasions, especially during his Sibiu years. [1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Stalinism pentru eternitate, p.295
- ^ a b "Nicu Ceausescu, 45, Flamboyant Son Of Romania Dictator", in The New York Times September 27, 1996; p. B8
[edit] References
- Vladimir Tismăneanu, Stalinism pentru eternitate, Polirom, Iaşi, 2005 ISBN 973-681-899-3
