Ion Gheorghe Maurer | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Ion Gheorghe Maurer | |
| President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly | |
| In office 11 January 1958 – 21 March 1961 | |
| Prime Minister | Chivu Stoica |
| Preceded by | Petru Groza Mihail Sadoveanu andAnton Moisescu (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej(as President of the State Council) |
| President of the State Council | |
(Acting) | |
| In office 19 March 1965 – 24 March 1965 Serving with Ștefan Voitec &Avram Bunaciu | |
| Preceded by | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej |
| Succeeded by | Chivu Stoica |
| President of the Council of Ministers | |
| In office 21 March 1961 – 27 February 1974 | |
| President | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Chivu Stoica Nicolae Ceaușescu |
| Preceded by | Chivu Stoica |
| Succeeded by | Manea Mănescu |
| Vice President of the State Council | |
| In office 1961–1967 | |
| President | Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Chivu Stoica |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Emil Bodnăraș |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 15 July 1957 – 15 January 1958 | |
| Prime Minister | Chivu Stoica |
| Preceded by | Grigore Preoteasa |
| Succeeded by | Avram Bunaciu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jean Georges Maurer 23 September [O.S. 9 September] 1902 |
| Died | 8 February 2000(2000-02-08) (aged 97) Bucharest, Romania |
| Political party | Romanian Communist Party (1937—1989) |
| Other political affiliations | Radical Peasants' Party (before 1937) National Liberal Party–Brătianu (1937) National Peasants' Party (1937—1938) |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Ion Gheorghe Maurer (Romanian pronunciation:[iˈonˈɡe̯orɡeˈmawrər]; 23 September [O.S. 9 September] 1902 – 8 February 2000)[1] was aRomaniancommunist politician and lawyer, and the 49thPrime Minister of Romania. He is thelongest serving Prime Minister in the history of Romania (having served for 12 years and 343 days).
Maurer is considered one of the most effective political leaders of communist Romania; apragmatist, during his tenure, a more nationalist form of Romanian communism was consolidated, the standard of living increased significantly, political repression was relaxed, and externally, Romania distanced itself from the USSR in favor of rapprochement with China and otherthird world states, but also with states of theWestern world.[2][3][4][5]
Listed in his birth certificate as Jean Georges Maurer,[6][7] he was born inBucharest to anAlsatian father ofGerman descent and aFrench mother with petit-bourgeois background.[8][9] He completed studies in law at theUniversity of Bucharest in 1923, after which he pursued graduate studies at theSorbonne inParis.[10] Upon returning to Romania, he became anattorney, practicing law inSighișoara, then serving as public prosecutor and later judge. In 1932 he went to Bucharest as counsel for several large banks.[10]
The first wife was named Dana Gavrilovici, according to other sources, Lucreția. She was older than he and had two daughters with him as well as a son from her first marriage, Alexandru Niculescu, who became an officer. He remarried in 1949 to Elena (Lili) Stănescu, ex-wife of his friendN. D. Cocea and with whom he had a son, Jean Maurer, who lives in Munich. His wife died a year before his death, but fearing a heart attack his son kept this fact a secret, so Maurer died believing his wife was still alive and being treated in a hospital.
He became active politically, defending in court members of the illegalleftist andAnti-fascist movements.[11] Occasionally, as in the1936 Craiova Trial ofRomanian Communist Party (PCR) activists, includingAna Pauker,Alexandru Drăghici, andAlexandru Moghioroș, he assistedLucrețiu Pătrășcanu.[12]
Before 1937, he was briefly active in the Radical Peasants' Party, formed byGrigore Iunian as a splinter group of theNational Peasants' Party;[13] however, he was by then already a member of the illegal Communist Party[14] and active in theAgitprop section.[15] He was then tasked by the Communists to infiltrate the mainstream political parties, running for a mandate in the Chamber of Deputies in 1937 from PNL-Brătianu, and in 1938 from PNȚ.[7]
In 1942–1943, duringWorld War II he was imprisoned for his political activity (notably, in theTârgu Jiu internment camp),[16] and, as a member of aparamilitary grouping,[17] played a secondary part in theevents of 23 August 1944 that led to the downfall of theIon Antonescu regime.[18] During this time, although present among the few active leaders of the Party aroundgeneral secretaryȘtefan Foriș,[19] he became a supporter ofGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's faction (dominated by imprisoned activists).[20] In 1944, he played a hand in Foriș's deposition, assistingEmil Bodnăraș and Gheorghiu-Dej.[21]
After the war, Maurer became a member of theCentral Committee of theRomanian Workers' Party (the new name of the PCR after it had incorporated theSocial Democratic Party) and took several ministerial positions in the newcommunist government of Romania — including that of undersecretary of the Communications and Public Works Ministry under Gheorghiu-Dej in the firstPetru Groza government.[22] On 7 August 1945, he was awarded theOrder of the Crown of Romania, Grand Officer class.[23]: 370–1 In 1946–1947, he was a member of Romania's delegation to theParis Peace Conference (headed byGheorghe Tătărescu) and was briefly employed by Ana Pauker at theForeign Ministry, before being dismissed for having an unsatisfactory level of political conviction.[24] He was removed from the forefront for the following decade,[25] working for the Institute of Juridical Research.[26]
He supported Gheorghiu-Dej'snationalist policy, eventually becomingforeign minister of Romania in 1957 (replacingGrigore Preoteasa), holding office for six months, and serving in the delegations establishing closer contacts with thePeople's Republic of China during theSino-Soviet split and adétente withFrance in 1959.[27]
Regarded, according to the claims of dissident journalistVictor Frunză [ro],[28] as Gheorghiu-Dej's chosen successor, Maurer washead of state (President of the Presidium of theGreat National Assembly of Romania) from 1958 to 1961. He took the seat previously occupied byConstantin Pîrvulescu on thePolitburo,[29] and then replacedChivu Stoica asPrime Minister of Romania in 1961.[30] In the latter capacity, he was the recipient of a 1963 letter by theBritish philosopher and activistBertrand Russell, who pleaded with the Romanian authorities to free from jailBelu Zilber (a victim of the conflict between the Party leadership and Pătrășcanu, Zilber had been apolitical prisoner for sixteen years by then).[31] Maurer was also one of three acting Chairmen of the State Council of Romania (heads of state) between March 19 and March 24, 1965.
AlongsideEmil Bodnăraș, Maurer was an important member of thePolitburo in opposing the ambitions ofGheorghe Apostol and, together with Bodnăraș, helping along the establishment of theNicolae Ceaușescu regime.[32] Among others, Maurer helped silence potential opposition from inside the Party by withdrawing his support forCorneliu Mănescu and welcoming Ceaușescu's directives, before being himself criticized and sidelined (at the same time as his collaboratorAlexandru Bârlădeanu).[33] Pensioned in 1974, he was still present in the forefront at most Party ceremonies.[34]
A prominent member of thenomenklatura for much of his life, he was known for his latent conflict with a large part of the PCR hierarchy.[26] He accumulated a sizable wealth and was known for his ostentatious lifestyle.[26] In 1989, Maurer's earlier support for Ceaușescu led the sidelined PCR members who were planning to state their opposition to the regime by drafting the so-calledLetter of the Six (Gheorghe Apostol,Alexandru Bârlădeanu,Silviu Brucan,Constantin Pîrvulescu, andGrigore Răceanu) not to enlist his assistance in the process.[35]
After theRomanian Revolution ofDecember 1989, he continued living in his lavish villa in thePrimăverii district of Bucharest.[6] He died in early 2000, a few month after his wife, leaving a son, Jean. He was 97.[36] After the Death of FormerGreek Prime MinisterKonstantinos Kollias on 13 July 1998, he became the Eldest living former State leader both in Europe and in The World.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly of Romania 11 January 1958 – 21 March 1961 | Succeeded by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej(as President of the State Council) |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Romania 21 March 1961 – 29 March 1974 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
