Romania’s first post-communist president, Ion Iliescu, was being treated in intensive care in a hospital in Bucharest on Tuesday, according to multiple sources.
Mr. Iliescu, 95, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody 1989 revolution where more than 1,100 people died, had all but retired from public life,
But last month, he wrote a blog praising the victory of centrist Nicusor Dan, former Bucharest mayor, to the presidency, calling it a boost to democracy amid social, economic and geopolitical challenges.
“He will provide responsible and honest leadership, with an eye on the future,” the former communist apparatchik-turned-democrat said.
Iliescu, who was sidelined by Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, ran a publishing house at the time of the revolution and served as Romania’s president three times.
After coming to power during the December uprising, he won a landslide victory in May 1990 and won re-election in 1992 and later in 2000 when he defeated nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor.
His last public appearance was in March 2017, when he was summoned to the General Prosecutor’s Office to be heard in the Revolution case, which was recently sent back to the Military Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2019, Ion Iliescu underwent surgery for a heart condition and in 2023, it was reported he had reduced mobility, but there have been no further updates on his heath.
In January 2025, prosecutors brought fresh charges of crimes against humanity connected to a miners rampage on students in June 1990 where at least six people died and hundreds were injured. He was accused of orchestrating a policy of repression against the civilian population with other leaders of the time.
In March 2017, he attended a hearing at the General Prosecutor’s Office over his role in the anti-communist revolt.
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