Tudor Postelnicu
Encyclopedia
Tudor Postelnicu is a former Romania
n Communist
politician, who served as Interior Minister from October 1987 until the 1989 Revolution
.
, Prahova County
, he left school after the sixth grade in 1943. Until 1947, he was an apprentice at a foundry in Moreni
, subsequently working there as an iron lathe operator until 1951. He joined the Romanian Communist Party
's (PCR; later PMR and then PCR again) Union of Communist Youth
(UTC; later UTM) in 1945, a year after the King Michael Coup brought the party out of illegality. From 1950 to 1951, he was secretary of his factory UTM committee; from 1954 to 1956, he was first secretary of the Câmpina
raion
UTM committee; and from 1956 to 1959, he was secretary of the Ploieşti
regional UTM committee. From 1956 to 1960, he belonged to the UTM's central committee for revision. In 1959, he became an adjunct member of the bureau of the UTM's central committee, also serving as head of its organisational section; he became a full member of the bureau in 1962. Additionally, he sat on the UTM's central committee from 1960 to 1964.
Postelnicu furthered his education at the cadre school of the UTM's central committee, finishing in 1954; at the Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy
, which he graduated in 1967; and at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, where he took equivalence examinations and entered the doctoral programme in 1977.
After joining the PMR in 1953, Postelnicu was promoted through its ranks. He first became an instructor at its mass organisation section; holding the same job at the central committee's organisational section from 1964 to 1969. He was secretary of the Olt County
party committee from 1969 to 1971, and then from 1971 to 1976 secretary of the Buzău County
party committee. From 1976 to 1978, he was first secretary in the same county, and president of the executive committee of its people's council (equivalent to today's county councils).
From March 1978 to October 1987, Postelnicu headed the country's secret police, the Securitate
, holding ministerial rank as a secretary of state. He then served as Interior Minister in the Constantin Dăscălescu
cabinet. In November 1979, he joined the PCR's central committee, and was a supplementary member of its political executive committee (CPEx) from November 1984 to December 1989. He also sat in the Great National Assembly
for Teleorman
and then Prahova County from March 1980 to December 1989. Political scientist Vladimir Tismăneanu
describes him as part of a group of "deeply subservient" and "utterly incompetent" figures with whom dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
surrounded himself in the 1980s.
Postelnicu was arrested during the 1989 Revolution, on the night of 22-23 December. Tried at the Bucharest Military Tribunal, he was sentenced in February 1990 to life imprisonment and confiscation of all his personal property, for complicity in genocide. The well-publicised proceedings have been described as a "show trial
"; Postelnicu and three other prominent defendants pleaded guilty after delivering rehearsed, self-critical testimony that they later renounced. In April 1993, upon a request by the state prosecutor, the Supreme Court of Justice
annulled the earlier sentence, instead convicting him of complicity in aggravated manslaughter and attempted manslaughter, and reducing his sentence to 7 years' imprisonment and 8 years' deprivation of civic rights. That month, a new trial began; he and eight others were charged with carrying out Ceauşescu's orders for the summary execution of three people who attempted to hijack a bus to the West in 1981. The Bucharest Military Tribunal convicted all nine in 1993. In 1994, the court accepted his personal request for conditional release on grounds of health. He was again incarcerated from January 1998 to October 1999, when he was granted conditional release a second time.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Communist
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
politician, who served as Interior Minister from October 1987 until the 1989 Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
.
Biography
Born in Proviţa de SusProvita de Sus
Proviţa de Sus is a commune in Prahova County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Izvoru, Plaiu, Proviţa de Sus and Valea Bradului....
, Prahova County
Prahova County
Prahova is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploieşti.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 829,945 and the population density was 176/km². It is Romania's most populated county, having a population density double than the country's mean...
, he left school after the sixth grade in 1943. Until 1947, he was an apprentice at a foundry in Moreni
Moreni
Moreni is a town in Dâmboviţa County, Romania, located about 100 km north-west of Bucharest, with a population of 22,868.In 1691, Moreni became the first place in Romania where oil was extracted....
, subsequently working there as an iron lathe operator until 1951. He joined the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
's (PCR; later PMR and then PCR again) Union of Communist Youth
Union of Communist Youth
The Union of Communist Youth was the Romanian Communist Party's youth organisation, modelled after the Soviet Komsomol. It aimed to cultivate young cadres into the party, as well as to help create the "new man" envisioned by communist ideologues.-History:Founded in 1922, the UTC went underground...
(UTC; later UTM) in 1945, a year after the King Michael Coup brought the party out of illegality. From 1950 to 1951, he was secretary of his factory UTM committee; from 1954 to 1956, he was first secretary of the Câmpina
Câmpina
Câmpina is a city in Prahova county, Romania, north of the county seat Ploieşti, located on the main route between Wallachia and Transylvania. In 2003, the city celebrated 500 years since its founding.-History:...
raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
UTM committee; and from 1956 to 1959, he was secretary of the Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
regional UTM committee. From 1956 to 1960, he belonged to the UTM's central committee for revision. In 1959, he became an adjunct member of the bureau of the UTM's central committee, also serving as head of its organisational section; he became a full member of the bureau in 1962. Additionally, he sat on the UTM's central committee from 1960 to 1964.
Postelnicu furthered his education at the cadre school of the UTM's central committee, finishing in 1954; at the Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy
Stefan Gheorghiu Academy
The Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy The Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy The Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy (Romanian: Academia Ştefan Gheorghiu, in full: Academia de învăţămînt social-politic Ştefan Gheorghiu de pe lîngă CC al PCR - approx...
, which he graduated in 1967; and at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, where he took equivalence examinations and entered the doctoral programme in 1977.
After joining the PMR in 1953, Postelnicu was promoted through its ranks. He first became an instructor at its mass organisation section; holding the same job at the central committee's organisational section from 1964 to 1969. He was secretary of the Olt County
Olt County
Olt is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia . The capital city is Slatina.- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 489,274 and the population density was 89/km²....
party committee from 1969 to 1971, and then from 1971 to 1976 secretary of the Buzău County
Buzau County
Buzău is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 496,214 and the population density was 81/km².*Romanians – 97%*Roma – under 3% declared, and others....
party committee. From 1976 to 1978, he was first secretary in the same county, and president of the executive committee of its people's council (equivalent to today's county councils).
From March 1978 to October 1987, Postelnicu headed the country's secret police, the Securitate
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
, holding ministerial rank as a secretary of state. He then served as Interior Minister in the Constantin Dăscălescu
Constantin Dascalescu
Constantin Dăscălescu was a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania during the communist rule of Nicolae Ceauşescu until the 1989 Romanian Revolution.In 1991, after the revolution, he was sentenced to life in prison...
cabinet. In November 1979, he joined the PCR's central committee, and was a supplementary member of its political executive committee (CPEx) from November 1984 to December 1989. He also sat in the Great National Assembly
Great National Assembly
The Great National Assembly was the legislature of the Romanian People's Republic and the Socialist Republic Romania. When Communism was overthrown in Romania in December 1989, the National Assembly was replaced by a bicameral parliament, made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.The Great...
for Teleorman
Teleorman County
Teleorman is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with its capital city at Alexandria.The name Teleorman is of Cumanic origin. It literally means crazy forest and, by extension, "thick and shadowy forest" in the Cuman language...
and then Prahova County from March 1980 to December 1989. Political scientist Vladimir Tismăneanu
Vladimir Tismaneanu
Vladimir Tismăneanu is a Romanian and American political scientist, political analyst, sociologist, and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park...
describes him as part of a group of "deeply subservient" and "utterly incompetent" figures with whom dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
surrounded himself in the 1980s.
Postelnicu was arrested during the 1989 Revolution, on the night of 22-23 December. Tried at the Bucharest Military Tribunal, he was sentenced in February 1990 to life imprisonment and confiscation of all his personal property, for complicity in genocide. The well-publicised proceedings have been described as a "show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
"; Postelnicu and three other prominent defendants pleaded guilty after delivering rehearsed, self-critical testimony that they later renounced. In April 1993, upon a request by the state prosecutor, the Supreme Court of Justice
High Court of Cassation and Justice
The High Court of Cassation and Justice is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of cassation around the world...
annulled the earlier sentence, instead convicting him of complicity in aggravated manslaughter and attempted manslaughter, and reducing his sentence to 7 years' imprisonment and 8 years' deprivation of civic rights. That month, a new trial began; he and eight others were charged with carrying out Ceauşescu's orders for the summary execution of three people who attempted to hijack a bus to the West in 1981. The Bucharest Military Tribunal convicted all nine in 1993. In 1994, the court accepted his personal request for conditional release on grounds of health. He was again incarcerated from January 1998 to October 1999, when he was granted conditional release a second time.