Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu (/ˌniːkɔːˈlaɪ tʃaʊˈʃɛskuː/ nee-kaw-ly chow-shes-koo;  Romanian:  [nikoˈla.e t͡ʃe̯a.uˈʃesku]  ( listen) ; 26 January 1918 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian Communist politician. He wasGeneral Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader. He was also the country's head of state from 1967 to 1989.

A member of the Romanian Communist youth movement, Ceaușescu rose up through the ranks of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's Socialist government and, upon the death of Gheorghiu-Dej in 1965, he succeeded to the leadership of Romania’s Communist Party as General Secretary.