On December 25, 1989, in the city of Târgoviște, the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, who ruled Romania for nearly a quarter of a century, were executed. This marked the culmination of protests that grew into a revolution. Nicolae Ceaușescu was born on January 26, 1918, in Scornicești (Olt County, near Bucharest, in the Kingdom of Romania) into a peasant family. He was the third of ten children and received only an elementary education (four grades). In 1929, at the age of 11, he moved to Bucharest to live with his older sister, working in a factory and learning shoemaking. In 1933, he joined the Union of Communist Youth (UCY), and in 1936, he became a member of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP), which at the time operated underground. Ceaușescu was repeatedly imprisoned for propagating leftist ideas (in 1934–1936, 1936–1939, and 1940–1944). He was subjected to torture during these incarcerations, which later caused him to stutter. In prison, he met many prominent members of the RCP, including Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. After Romania ceased hostilities against the USSR in 1944 and a pro-Soviet leadership came to power, the RCP's activities were legalized. That same year, Ceaușescu became the secretary of the Central Committee of the UCY. In 1945, he was appointed head of the Higher Political Administration of the Romanian Armed Forces with the rank of brigadier general, despite having no military experience or education. In 1948, as the RCP's general secretary, Ceaușescu joined the first government of the Romanian People's Republic (proclaimed in December 1947) led by Petru Groza. Initially, Ceaușescu implemented relatively liberal domestic policies: Romanians were allowed to travel abroad and emigrate freely, foreign press was accessible, and dissidents were no longer imprisoned or exiled. During the 1970s, Ceaușescu modernized Romania's economy by utilizing Western loans (totaling about $22 billion from 1975 to 1987). The country saw significant developments in oil extraction, refining, and petrochemical industries (in 1976, oil production reached 300,000 barrels per day). In addition to furniture, food, and textile industries, Romania produced its own cars, tanks, and airplanes, with industrial goods dominating exports. However, by the mid-1970s, a cult of personality began to take shape. The RCP portrayed Ceaușescu as the "Father of the Nation" and his wife Elena as the "Mother of the Nation" (she also served as deputy prime minister). Ceaușescu increasingly suppressed dissent, and any expression of discontent was silenced by the "Securitate," the secret police. To repay loans, Ceaușescu introduced food and fuel rationing, limited electricity consumption (households were allowed only one 15-watt bulb per room), and exported most industrial production, leading to a sharp decline in living standards. Under Ceaușescu, Romania maintained an independent stance from the Soviet Union. For example, it retained diplomatic relations with Israel when the USSR severed ties after the Six-Day War (1967). Romania was the first Eastern Bloc country to recognize West Germany (1967). Ceaușescu condemned the Warsaw Pact's invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979). Romania began collaborating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1971 and was the first Eastern Bloc country to sign agreements with the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1980. Unlike other Comecon members, Romania did not boycott the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1989, Ceaușescu criticized Soviet perestroika, declaring, "The Danube will flow backwards before Romania adopts perestroika." The uprising began in Timișoara (in western Romania, the country's third-largest city) on December 15, 1989. Ethnic Hungarians protested the court's decision to expel their pastor, László Tőkés, who opposed Ceaușescu’s policy of reducing the number of villages (from 13,000 to 5,000) for economic efficiency. The protests escalated as Romanians joined the Hungarians, demanding democracy and free elections. Demonstrators burned Ceaușescu’s portraits and clashed with police. On December 17, the military was deployed, killing over 70 people and injuring 300. On December 21, a mass rally in Bucharest was organized by the government to show support for Ceaușescu's measures in Timișoara. However, the crowd turned against him, chanting anti-government slogans and openly calling him a dictator. Violence ensued, with the military opening fire on protesters. Over 40 people were killed, and 600 were injured. Protests spread to other cities, also resulting in casualties. By the morning of December 22, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Bucharest, and military units began siding with the revolutionaries. Ceaușescu and his wife fled the capital but were captured hours later in Târgoviște. That evening, Ion Iliescu, a former RCP official, announced the overthrow of Ceaușescu on live television and declared the establishment of the National Salvation Front (NSF). On the night of December 23, fierce clashes erupted between revolutionaries and "Securitate" forces. On December 24, the NSF created a special military tribunal to try Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. On December 25, the trial lasted less than two hours, and the couple was charged with "genocide and the murder of over 60,000 people; undermining state power by organizing armed actions against the people; undermining the national economy; attempting to flee the country; and holding $1 billion in foreign bank accounts." They were sentenced to death and executed by firing squad at a military base in Târgoviște. Their bodies were secretly buried in Bucharest's Ghencea Cemetery under false names. In 2010, their remains were exhumed at the request of their family and reburied at the same cemetery. After Ceaușescu's execution, the violence in Bucharest subsided, and power was transferred to the NSF, led by Ion Iliescu. On December 27, the single-party system was abolished, and a provisional government was formed with scientist Petre Roman as prime minister and Ion Iliescu as interim president. On December 29, the country was officially renamed Romania. In May 1990, the first free presidential elections were held, with Ion Iliescu winning 85.07% of the vote. On December 8, 1991, a new constitution declaring Romania a democratic republic was approved by referendum. In 2008, a parliamentary investigation concluded that Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu did not have foreign bank accounts, and the charge of killing 60,000 people was dismissed. According to the Institute for the Investigation of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, 1,166 people died during the uprising, including "Securitate" officers. However, Ceaușescu was held responsible for economic mismanagement and the decline of agriculture, which worsened people's lives. Since April 2019, Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice has been hearing a case concerning the revolution. NSF leaders are accused of deliberately creating conditions for "terrorist psychosis." Ion Iliescu and others face charges of "crimes against humanity." According to military prosecutors, after December 22, 1989, Iliescu's supporters used diversions and disinformation to seize power, fostering "fratricidal fire, chaotic shooting, and contradictory military orders." Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu had three children. Valentin Ceaușescu (adopted, born 1948) is a physicist and businessman who avoided politics. In December 1989, he was arrested for "undermining the national economy" but was released in August 1990 without charges. Nicu Ceaușescu (1951–1996) held a high-ranking RCP position and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1989 for suppressing protests (later reduced to 16 years). He was released on health grounds in 1996 and died shortly after. Zoia Ceaușescu (1949–2006), a mathematician, was arrested in December 1989 and spent eight months in prison for "undermining the national economy." She died in November 2006.