Nicu Ceaușescu

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 Secretary	Nicolae Ceaușescu
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Youth & First Secretary of the Union of Communist Youth
In office 11 December 1982 – 17 October 1987
Prime Minister	Constantin Dăscălescu
Preceded by	Pantelimon Găvănescu
Succeeded by	Ioan Toma
Member of the Great National Assembly
In office 1981–1989
Constituency	Buzău County
Personal details
Born	Nicolae Ceaușescu (1951-09-01)1 September 1951 Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Died	26 September 1996(1996-09-26) (aged 45) Vienna, Austria
Political party	Romanian Communist Party (1971–1989)
Spouse	Poliana Cristescu ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1985)​
Parent(s)	Nicolae Ceaușescu Elena Ceaușescu
Relatives	Valentin Ceaușescu Zoia Ceaușescu
Alma mater	University of Bucharest Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy
Profession	Physicist, Politician
Awards	Order of "August 23" Order of Labor
Military service
Allegiance	Romania
Branch/service	Romanian Air Force
Years of service	1975–1976
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.

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.

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.

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 to work harder. He also allegedly lost large sums of money gambling around the world. 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.

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.