Nicu Ceaușescu
Ceaușescu in 1990
First Secretary of the Sibiu Regional Committee of the Communist Party
In office
17 October 1987 – 22 December 1989
General SecretaryNicolae Ceaușescu
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Minister of Youth & First Secretary of the Union of Communist Youth
In office
11 December 1982 – 17 October 1987
Prime MinisterConstantin Dăscălescu
Preceded byPantelimon Găvănescu
Succeeded byIoan Toma
Member of the Great National Assembly
In office
1981–1989
ConstituencyBuzău County
Personal details
Born
Nicolae Ceaușescu

(1951-09-01)1 September 1951
Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Died26 September 1996(1996-09-26) (aged 45)
Vienna, Austria
Political partyRomanian Communist Party (1971–1989)
Spouse
Poliana Cristescu
​
​
(m. 1983; div. 1985)​
Parent(s)Nicolae Ceaușescu
Elena Ceaușescu
RelativesValentin Ceaușescu
Zoia Ceaușescu
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy
ProfessionPhysicist, Politician
AwardsOrder of "August 23"
Order of Labor
Military service
Allegiance Romania
Branch/service Romanian Air Force
Years of service1975–1976
Rank Lieutenant

Nicu Ceaușescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈniku tʃe̯a.uˈʃesku]; 1 September 1951 – 26 September 1996) was a Romanian physicist and communist politician who was the youngest child of Romanian leaders Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. He was a close associate of his father's political regime and considered the President's heir presumptive.

Life during communism

Nicu with his mother and father in 1976

According to Ion Mihai Pacepa (who defected to the United States in 1978), Ceaușescu wanted Nicu to become his Foreign Minister and for that, he instructed two high-ranked Party members, Ștefan Andrei and Cornel Pacoste (whom he considered brilliant communist intellectuals) to take care of Nicu's education; Pacepa further claimed that, unlike his older siblings, he disliked school and was allegedly derided by them for never being seen reading a book.[1]

He graduated from Liceul no. 24 (now 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.[2]

Nicu Ceaușescu in 1981

As an apprentice in politics, he was mentored by Ștefan Andrei, Ion Traian Ștefănescu 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 the leader for Sibiu County, being prepared by his parents to be his father's successor.[2]

Post-communist life and legacy

Since high school, Nicu was reputed to be a heavy drinker. Pacepa alleged that Nicu scandalized Bucharest with his rapes and car accidents. He claimed that his father heard about Nicu's drinking problem, but his solution was the one given to every problem in Romania: work harder.[1] He also allegedly lost large sums of money gambling around the world.[2][3] Latif Yahia — former body double of Uday Hussein, son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein — claimed that Nicu was good friends with Uday, and the two would visit each other in Switzerland and Monaco.[4]

The documentary Videograms of a Revolution shows him exhibited as a prisoner on state television on 22 December 1989 after being arrested on accusations of holding children as hostages and other crimes. He was also arrested in 1990 for misuse of government funds under his father's regime, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Released in November 1992 because of cirrhosis, he died of the disease four years later, aged 45, in a Vienna hospital.[3]

References

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  1. 1 2 Ion Mihai Pacepa (1990) Red Horizons: The True Story of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescus' Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption, Regnery Publishing, Inc. pp. 62–63. ISBN 0-89526-746-2.
  2. 1 2 3 Vladimir Tismăneanu (2005) Stalinism pentru eternitate, Polirom, Iaşi. p. 295. ISBN 973-681-899-3.
  3. 1 2 "Nicu Ceaușescu, 45, Flamboyant Son of Romanian Dictator", in The New York Times 27 September 1996; p. B8
  4. ↑ Latif Yahia; Karl Wendl (1997). I Was Saddam's Son. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 297. ISBN 978-155-970-373-4.
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