Nicu Ceaușescu

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 leader 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

According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, 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; however, 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]

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. Ion Mihai Pacepa, who
defected to the United States in 1978, alleged that he scandalized Bucharest with his
rapes and car accidents.[citation needed] 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] Latif Yahia claimed that Nicu was good friends with Uday
Hussein, son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and the two would visit each other
in Switzerland and Monaco.[3] He also allegedly lost large sums of money gambling
around the world.[2][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.[citation needed] He was also arrested in 1990
for misuse of government funds under his father's regime, and was sentenced to 20
years in prison.[citation needed] Released in November 1992 because of cirrhosis, he
died of the disease four years later, aged 45, in a Vienna hospital.[4]