Nicolae Militaru
Nicolae Militaru | |
---|---|
76th Minister of National Defense of Romania | |
In office 22 December 1989 – 16 February 1990 | |
Prime Minister | Petre Roman |
Preceded by | Vasile Milea |
Succeeded by | Victor Stănculescu |
Personal details | |
Born | Bălești, Gorj County, Kingdom of Romania | November 10, 1925
Died | December 27, 1996 Bucharest, Romania | (aged 71)
Political party | Romanian Communist Party |
Alma mater | Frunze Military Academy |
Profession | Military officer, communist politician |
Military service | |
Rank | General of the army |
Commands | 3rd Army (1965–1969) 2nd Army (1969–1978) |
Nicolae Militaru (November 10, 1925 – December 27, 1996) was a Romanian general of the army who served as Defense Minister from December 22, 1989 to February 16, 1990.
Biography
Under communism
Born in Bălești, Gorj County, Militaru joined the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) in 1945. He attended the M. V. Frunze Military Academy in Moscow from 1952 to 1956. Upon graduation, he became a lieutenant colonel in the Romanian Land Forces and was appointed chief of staff of the 10th Infantry Division, stationed in Iași. From June 17, 1965 to July 8, 1969 he served as commanding officer of the 3rd Army in Cluj.[1][2] He then commanded the 2nd Army (headquartered in Bucharest) from 1969 to 1978, attaining the rank of colonel general in 1974.[3][4] He sat on the PCR’s central committee as an alternate member from 1974 to 1984. From 1969 to 1975, he represented Gurahonț, Arad County in the Great National Assembly.[3]
In 1978, under suspicion for being a GRU agent and for plotting against dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, he was retired from active duty and made an assistant to the Industrial Constructions Minister, remaining until 1984.[4][3] A Securitate plot to depose Ceaușescu existed in the early 1980s, and he is known to have joined in 1984, adding an Army dimension.[5] Following the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, Militaru requested the Soviet leader's backing for an anti-Ceaușescu coup d'état; this was rejected.[6]
Revolution and aftermath
On December 24, 1989, during the Romanian Revolution, Militaru was already in charge of the Defense Ministry (which was being guarded by 2,200 soldiers, 63 tanks, and 50 armored personnel carriers),[7] when a controversial incident took place. According to a narrative put forward by former Securitate agents, he lured USLA military counterintelligence agents into an ambush and ensured the group was headed by Colonel Gheorghe Trosca and Major Eugen Cotuna since they had compromising information on Militaru's alleged GRU ties; the pair ended up killed. However, during 1990, army officers in the military's own press cast doubt on a story that was widely reported in civilian newspapers, alleging it was a Securitate diversion effectively spread by agents who had infiltrated the regular press.[8]
On December 26, in the Revolution's immediate aftermath, the new leader, Ion Iliescu, formally named him Defense Minister.[4] On December 28, Iliescu issued a decree promoting Militaru to the rank of general of the army.[9] As minister, Militaru recalled to active duty some thirty officers, most of whom had received active training in the Soviet Union. Other officers became increasingly uneasy and a pro-reform group, Comitetul de Acțiune pentru Democratizarea Armatei (CADA, Action Committee for the Democratization of the Army) emerged on February 12, 1990. The following day over a thousand soldiers and officers assembled in Bucharest,[10] and Militaru was dismissed on February 16, replaced by General Victor Stănculescu.[4] He ran in the 1996 presidential election, winning 0.22% of the vote. He died of cancer the following month.[4]
Electoral history
Presidential elections
Election | Affiliation | First round | Second round | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
1996 | Independent | 28,318 | 16th |
Notes
- ^ Andronic, Dan (December 19, 2018). "Fantomele Revoluției. Nicolae Militaru, KGB-istul adus de Iliescu în fruntea Armatei". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Prezentarea Diviziei 4 Infanterie "Gemina" – Armata a 3-a. Anii 1960–1979". www.clujarm.ro (in Romanian). 4th Infantry Division (Romania). Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c Dobre et al., p. 397
- ^ a b c d e Deleanu, Valentina (December 29, 2011). "Ce s-a ales de primul Guvern postdecembrist". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ Deletant, Dennis (1995). Ceaușescu and the Securitate. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. p. 347. ISBN 1-56-32463-33.
- ^ Service, Robert (2007). Comrades!: A History of World Communism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 429. ISBN 0-67-40253-0X.
- ^ Nedea, Alex (December 22, 2014). "Povestea cavalerului fără cap care bântuie România" (in Romanian). Vice. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ O'Neil, Patrick H. (1997). Post-Communism and the Media in Eastern Europe. Psychology Press. pp. 117–120. ISBN 0-7146-4765-9.
- ^ "Decret nr. 15 din 28 decembrie 1989 privind înaintarea în gradul de general de armată a unui general-colonel". legislatie.just.ro (in Romanian). December 28, 1989. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Gallagher, Tom (2005). Modern Romania: The End of Communism, the Failure of Democratic Reform, and the Theft of a Nation. New York University Press. p. 87. ISBN 0-8147-3172-4.
References
- Florica Dobre, Liviu Marius Bejenaru, Clara Cosmineanu-Mareș, Monica Grigore, Alina Ilinca, Oana Ionel, Nicoleta Ionescu-Gură, Elisabeta Neagoe-Pleșa, Liviu Pleșa, Membrii C.C. al P.C.R. (1945–1989). Dicționar. Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedică, 2004. ISBN 973-45-0486-X