Nicolae Militaru (10 November 1925 – 27 December 1996) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n soldier and communist politician. Rising to the rank of general by the 1960s, his ties to the Soviet Union led dictator

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

to question his loyalty and sideline Militaru in 1978. He re-emerged during the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

, when he was made

Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, serving for nearly two months before street pressure forced his dismissal. Days after Ceaușescu’s execution, he was advanced to

general of the army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

. His final public act came in 1996, when Militaru ran for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, barely registering any support.

Biography

Under communism

Born in Bălești,

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

, Militaru joined the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

(PCR) in 1945, entering the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

that October. He attended the M. V. Frunze Military Academy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

from 1952 to 1956. Upon graduation, he became a lieutenant colonel in the

and was appointed chief of staff of the 10th Infantry Division, stationed in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, after which he commanded the 2nd Mechanized Division, stationed in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

. Promoted to major general in March 1961, he served as chief of staff of the 3rd Army in

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

from 1961 to 1965. From 1965 to 1969, he served as commanding officer of the 3rd Army. He then commanded the 2nd Army (headquartered in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

) from 1969 to 1978, attaining the rank of colonel general in 1974.Dobre ''et al.'', p. 397. He sat on the PCR’s central committee as an alternate member from 1974 to 1984. From 1969 to 1975, he represented

Gurahonț Gurahonț () is a commune in Arad County, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbi ...

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

in the Great National Assembly. In 1978, under suspicion for being a

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

agent and for plotting against dictator

, he was retired from active duty and made an assistant to the Industrial Constructions Minister, remaining until 1984. A ''

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

'' plot to depose Ceaușescu existed in the early 1980s, and he is known to have joined in 1984, adding an Army dimension. Following the rise of

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

in 1985, Militaru requested the Soviet leader's backing for an anti-Ceaușescu ''coup d'état''; this was rejected.

Revolution and aftermath

On December 24, 1989, during the

, Militaru was already in charge of the heavily guarded Defense Ministry 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 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. On December 26, in the Revolution's immediate aftermath, the new leader,

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as the second president of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, ...

, formally named him Defense Minister. Two days later, Iliescu issued a decree promoting Militaru to the rank of general of the army. 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 12 February 1990. The following day over a thousand soldiers and officers assembled in

, and Militaru was dismissed on 16 February, replaced by General

Victor Stănculescu Victor Atanasie Stănculescu (10 May 1928 – 19 June 2016) was a Romanian general during the Communist era. He played a central role in the overthrow of the dictatorship by refusing to carry out the orders of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușesc ...

. He ran in the 1996 presidential election, winning 0.22% of the vote but died of cancer the following month.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Notes

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Militaru, Nicolae 1925 births 1996 deaths People from Gorj County Romanian Land Forces generals Ministers of defence of Romania Members of the Great National Assembly People of the Romanian revolution Candidates for President of Romania Deaths from cancer in Romania Frunze Military Academy alumni Romanian Communist Party politicians