SUMMARY

In late 1989, as a consequence of a presidency characterized by grave mismanagement of the Romanian nation with all its assets, Ceausescu and his wife were ousted after 10 days of violent mass protest against his regime. Ceausescu and his wife were accused, by a military tribunal, of genocide and other crimes against the nation. Followed by a quick trial the couple were convicted of all charges and executed on 25 December.

IN DEPTH

Background to the conflict and the upsurge of violent mass protests

Nicolae Ceausescu became the leader of Romanias Communist Party in July 1965 after the death of the former President Gheorghiu-Dej and was elected President of the State in 1974. Ceausescu won support for his independent, nationalistic political course, which openly challenged the dominance of the Soviet Union over Romania.

Despite his independent policy in foreign relations the domestic rule was rigid. Media was under strict censorship and Ceausescu tolerated no internal opposition. In the 1970s Romania had accumulated a large foreign debt. In an effort to refund, Ceausescu ordered in 1982 that most of the countrys agricultural and industrial production would be exported. The resulting drastic shortages in basic necessities such as food, fuel, energy and medicines drove Romania from a state of relative economic well-being to a country near starvation.

On 17 December 1989, demonstrations broke out in Timisoara, a town of approximately 330 000 people close to the Hungarian border. After initial successes by the insurgents, organised by the NSF (National Salvation Front), Securitate (Romanian Secret Police) opened fire on civilians throughout the town. The demonstrations spread to Bucharest, and on 22 December, the Romanian army defected to the demonstrators. That same day Ceausescu and his wife fled the capital in a helicopter but were captured and taken into custody by the armed forces. Clashes continued between Securitate (the forces loyal to Ceausescu) and the army when the army tried to take control over the presidential palace. On 25 December the couple were hurriedly tried and convicted by a special military tribunal on charges of mass murder and other crimes. Ceausescu and his wife were then executed. During the leadership Ion Iliescu Romanian politics stabilized. Iliescu was one of the founder of NSF and was elected 1990, as the first post-communist president in Romania.