Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first president following the country’s reunification, died on Tuesday at the age of 95. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer two months ago and had been in the intensive care unit of a Bucharest hospital ever since. The former politician is regarded as one of the most controversial figures of Romania’s post-reunification period.
A former communist apparatchik who was sidelined by Nicolae Ceaușescu in the 1980s, Iliescu played a significant role in the dictator’s overthrow in December 1989 and swiftly assumed power following the execution of the Ceaușescu couple. Accused of a Bloody Power Grab, But Never Convicted Iliescu faced charges of crimes against humanity, among other accusations, after Romania’s Attorney General filed an indictment in the so-called “Revolution Trial” for the numerous deaths during the days of the violent regime change.
According to the indictment, the so-called Romanian Revolution was a “systematic deception operation” allegedly organized by “senior army leadership” under Iliescu’s orders to mislead the population. In reality, the prosecution claims Iliescu did not want sweeping changes in Romania but rather aimed for restructuring the country following the Soviet-style “Gorbachev model.” Nonetheless, since Iliescu was never convicted in court, the Romanian government announced Tuesday afternoon that he will receive a state funeral in his honor as a former head of state.
