Ioan Totu
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania
In office
August 26, 1986 – November 2, 1989
PresidentNicolae Ceaușescu
Preceded byIlie Văduva
Succeeded byIon Stoian
Vice Prime Minister of Romania
In office
November 3, 1982 – March 28, 1985
PresidentNicolae Ceauşescu
President of the State Planning Committee
In office
November 4, 1989 – December 22, 1989
PresidentNicolae Ceaușescu
Personal details
Born(1931-05-14)May 14, 1931
Otetelișu, Vâlcea County, Kingdom of Romania
DiedApril 21, 1992(1992-04-21) (aged 60)
Bucharest, Romania
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Political partyRomanian Communist Party
ProfessionEconomist

Ioan Totu (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈo̯an ˈtotu]; May 14, 1931 – April 21, 1992) was a Romanian economist and communist politician who served as the Vice Prime Minister of Romania from 1982 to 1985 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1989, during the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu. He briefly served as President of the State Planning Committee in late 1989.

Life and political career

Born in Otetelișu, Vâlcea County, Totu attended the Commercial High School in Craiova from 1949 to 1950 and then studied at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, which he graduated in 1953. After being an assistant at the Nicolae Bălcescu Institute for Agricultural Sciences between 1953 and 1954, he became a lecturer at the Chair of Political Sciences and Secretary of the Union of Communist Youth Committee at the Institute for Mining. He was also a propagandist for the Communist Party Committee in Sector 1 of Bucharest and was accepted as a member of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) in 1955. In 1957 he moved to the University of Bucharest as a lecturer. After completing a course at the Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy in 1958, he became inspector of the department for teaching social sciences at the Ministry of Education and later, in 1962, instructor of the Central Committee's Department of Education, before becoming Head of the Higher Education Section of the Central Committee of the PCR in 1967.[1]

In the Great National Assembly, Totu represented Dragalina, Călărași County from 1980 to 1985, and Dumbrăveni, Sibiu County from 1985 to 1989.[1]

Totu was a member of the Romanian Politburo. He also served as the head of the Romanian mission to East European Common Market (CEMA). He was generally known for his toughness, especially in his comments to the United States Department of State regarding the latter's criticism of the Romanian government for human rights abuse.[2] As a member of Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime, he harshly criticized the U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz for seeking to "weaken the positions of socialism".[3]

Totu was appointed Vice Prime Minister of Romania on November 3, 1982 and served in this post until March 28, 1985.[4] On August 26, 1986 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania replacing a less experienced diplomat Ilie Văduva.[5][6] As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Totu re-established Romania's relations with Israel with the purpose to expand trade and economic relations, and to play an international role in the Middle East peace process.[2] His term in office ended on November 2, 1989 and he was appointed the President of the State Planning Committee on November 4 which he held until December 22, 1989.[7]

Imprisonment and death

Totu was arrested on January 10, 1990, days after the Romanian Revolution of 1989.[8] He was tried along with 24 Romanian Politburo members by the Military Court of Romania and sentenced to five and a half years in a Bucharest prison.[9] After conviction and imprisonment, Totu committed suicide by hanging in 1992.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Florica Dobre (ed.), Membrii C. C. al P. C. R.: 1945–1989, pp. 581–582. CNSAS. Editura Enciclopedicã, Bucharest, 2004. ISBN 973-45-0486-X
  2. ^ a b Govrin, Yosef (2002). Israeli-Romanian relations at the end of the Ceaușescu era. Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass Publishers. pp. 181–205. ISBN 0-7146-5234-2. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  3. ^ "Berlin Wall Aids Peace, East Bloc Powers Assert". The New York Times. 1989-01-19. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  4. ^ "Guvernul Constantin Dăscălescu. Perioada guvernării: 1982-05-21 - 1985-03-28". Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  5. ^ "Consiliul Apărării al Republicii Socialiste România" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  6. ^ "Leaders of Romania. Ministers of Foreign Affairs". Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  7. ^ "Guvernele Romaniei. GUVERNUL CONSTANTIN DASCALESCU II". Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  8. ^ Diac, Cristina (December 8, 2010). "Sinucidere sau asasinat politic?". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "16 Ex-Ceausescu Aides Jailed for Resisting Revolt". Los Angeles Times. 1991-03-26. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  10. ^ "Rulers. Index Tj-Tz". Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  11. ^ "Romanian Sentenced And Commits Suicide". The New York Times. 1992-04-22. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
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