Grigore Preoteasa
Grigore Preoteasa | |
|---|---|
Foreign Affairs Minister of Romania | |
| In office October 4, 1955 – July 14, 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Simion Bughici |
| Succeeded by | Ion Gheorghe Maurer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 25, 1915 Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania |
| Died | November 4, 1957 (aged 42) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Romanian Communist Party |
| Spouse | Ecaterina Preoteasa |
| Children | George and Ilinca |
| Residence | Bucharest |
| Occupation | journalist |
Grigore Preoteasa (August 25, 1915 – November 4, 1957) was a
Biography
Born in
After 1936, Preoteasa joined the leadership of the Democratic Students' Front (Frontul Studențesc Democrat or Frontul Democratic Universitar), an
A contributor to the PCR's illegal newspaper
He escaped together with his friend
As editor in chief of România Liberă between late 1944 and 1946[9] and press officer in the Propaganda Ministry (after 1945),[2] he frequently attacked the opposition to the PCR-backed Petru Groza cabinet, and wrote against the National Peasants' Party in particular.[10]
He was gradually promoted by Gheorghiu-Dej after their faction won supremacy inside the Romanian Workers' Party (PMR, the new name of the PCR after 1947).
As minister, Preoteasa was noted for handling the aftermath of the
A member of the PMR delegation to the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution in Moscow (alongside Gheorghiu-Dej, Chivu Stoica, Alexandru Moghioroș, Ștefan Voitec, Ceaușescu, and Răutu), Preoteasa died at Vnukovo International Airport, minutes after their Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft missed the landing field and caught fire.[16] According to witnesses, Preoteasa was the only person standing at the time, telling others that he was glad not to have been asked to wear a seat belt; when control of the airplane was lost, he remarked, probably in jest, "This was not in the schedule", which were to be his last words.[17]
Recurring speculations that the incident had been specifically designed to kill Preoteasa, or that it was meant by the Soviets for Gheorghiu-Dej as relations between the latter and Nikita Khrushchev had soured dramatically, are contradicted by the fact that Ceaușescu, Răutu, and other passengers all sustained serious injuries while the Soviet crew was killed.[18] Commentators tend to agree that his death did facilitate Ceaușescu's maneuvering for power after 1964.[19]
Legacy
Preoteasa was married to Ecaterina, and fathered a son George and daughter Ilinca, who was a high-ranking member of the
His name was given to the Bucharest House for Student Culture and kept until the
Notes
- ^ Tismăneanu, p.267
- ^ a b c d Betea & Vohn
- ^ Betea & Vohn; Cioroianu, p.210
- ^ Mihailov Chiciuc; Tismăneanu, p.267
- ^ Tismăneanu, p.76
- ^ Tismăneanu, p.79, 274
- ^ a b Tismăneanu, p.164
- ^ Cioroianu, p.211; Tismăneanu, p.113
- ^ Betea & Vohn; Cioroianu, p.210-211; Frunză, p.240; Tismăneanu, p.164, 267
- ^ Frunză, p.224
- ^ Cioroianu, p.211; Frunză, p.240; Tismăneanu, p.164
- ^ Betea & Vohn; Cioroianu, p.211; Tismăneanu, p.164-165
- ^ Tismăneanu, p.305
- ^ Deletant, p.111
- ^ Cioroianu, p.198; Deletant, p.111
- ^ Cioroianu, p.210; Frunză, p.240
- ^ Cioroianu, p.210
- ^ Cioroianu, p.210-211; Tismăneanu, p.305
- ^ Cioroianu, p.209, 211; Tismăneanu, p.164-165
- ^ Cioroianu, p.211
- ^ "Sarmalele Reci lyrics" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
References
- Lavinia Betea; Cristina Vohn (October 25, 2005). "Inedit – Primul ziar legal al PCdR a fost falsificat" [Never Before Published – The First Legal PCdR Newspaper Was Forged]. Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx; O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc ("On the Shoulders of Marx; An Introduction to the History of Romanian Communism"), Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005
- Dennis Deletant, Ceausescu and the Securitate, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 1-56324-633-3
- Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990
- Paula Mihailov Chiciuc (June 20, 2006). "Comunism – "Cui dăm votul și încrederea noastră?"" [Communism – "To Whom Do We Give Our Vote and Our Confidence?"]. Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ISBN 0-520-23747-1
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
