Gheorghe Apostol (16 May 1913 – 21 August 2010) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n politician, deputy Prime Minister of Romania and a former leader of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

(PCR), noted for his rivalry with

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...

Early life

Apostol was born near

Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudo ...

Galați County Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the '' ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the ...

. After training at the

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are Railway electrification system, electrified. The total track length is , ...

(CFR) school, he worked in a CFR

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...

. In 1932, Apostol met

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Part ...

, and became involved in the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

underground. He joined the Party in 1934 and became its link with the railway

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s and minor left-leaning groups in Galați. Arrested several times, Apostol was sentenced in 1937 to three years in prison, which he served in Galați and Doftana. His activities upon his release from jail got him interned in camps for political prisoners, at

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ...

, and

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt Ri ...

. In August 1944, as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

was approaching the Romanian border, Apostol and several communist figures who were being detained at Târgu Jiu escaped and made their way to the underground. This version of the story follows Apostol's official biography of the 1950s; photos taken upon the liberation of the camp (published in ''Dosarele Istoriei'', for instance), allegedly showing him in the middle of the crowd of former prisoners, made some doubt this account.

With Gheorghiu-Dej

He was among the most prominent collaborators of Gheorghiu-Dej. As members of the so-called ''prison faction'', opposed to the large group of Party members who had taken refuge in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

prior to 1944, Gheorghe Apostol and Gheorghiu-Dej walked the fine line between

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the the ...

and reformism. Thus,

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

did not steer away from Soviet policies until 1953, and Gheorghiu-Dej even got

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

's approval for the removal of rival

Ana Pauker Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world's first female foreign minister whe ...

on charges of right wing deviance and

cosmopolitism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

, as well as for the elimination of

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (; November 4, 1900 – April 17, 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he ...

(a Romanian communist who was not completely loyal to the Party). After Stalin's death in 1953, the regime in Romania, headed by the same inner circle, was largely opposed to

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

and

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...

, while carrying out its own reforms and attempting to cut off most economic ties to the Soviet Union. Apostol continued to be the favoured link between the Party (then named ''Partidul Muncitoresc Român'', PMR – "Romanian Workers' Party") and the trade unions. At the same time, he climbed steadily in the Party hierarchy. He joined the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

in 1945 and the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

in 1948. He was Minister of Agriculture in 1953–54, a member of the

Great National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of ...

legislative body, whose President he also was from April 1948 to June 1948, September 1950 to April 1951 and March 1952 to June 1952, and recipient of several national honours. In 1954, Gheorghiu-Dej briefly gave up the first secretaryship of the party to Apostol, while remaining as prime minister. However, it was understood that Gheorghiu-Dej still held the real power, and he formally took back the party leadership in 1955. According to Apostol himself, an ailing Gheorghiu-Dej would have decided to appoint him as his successor in 1964: as confirmation, Apostol was sent to represent the Romanian government at

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

's funeral.

Ion Gheorghe Maurer Ion Gheorghe Iosif Maurer (23 September 1902 – 8 February 2000) was a Romanian communist politician and lawyer, and the 49th Prime Minister of Romania. He is the longest serving Prime Minister in the history of Romania (having served for ...

rallied the Party leadership around the neutral option represented by Ceaușescu, making sure that Apostol did not represent a threat upon Gheorghiu-Dej's death.

Hostility to Ceaușescu

As a result, Apostol became deeply hostile to Ceaușescu's policies, stating that they went against the legacy of Gheorghiu-Dej (in 2003, he described the latter as ''

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

''). He refused to pay the allegiance demanded by the new leader. Protected by

Emil Bodnăraș Emil Bodnăraș (10 February 1904 – 24 January 1976) was a Romanian communist politician, an army officer, and a Soviet agent, who had considerable influence in the Romanian People's Republic.''Final Report'', p. 646 Early life Bodnăraș was ...

, he was advised to take refuge in a diplomatic career, becoming

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and then

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 1988, at the peak of Nicolae Ceaușescu's leadership, Apostol returned to Romania and contacted other communist figures of his generation (such as

Alexandru Bârlădeanu Alexandru Bârlădeanu (or ''Bîrlădeanu''; 25 January 1911 – 13 November 1997) was a Romanian Marxian economist and statesman who was prominent during the communist regime until being sidelined in 1968. In his later years, following the collap ...

Silviu Brucan Silviu Brucan (born Saul Bruckner; 18 January 1916 – 14 September 2006) was a Romanian Communist politician. He became a critic of the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. After the Romanian Revolution, Brucan became a political analyst. Ear ...

Corneliu Mănescu Corneliu Mănescu (8 February 1916 – 26 June 2000) was a Romanian diplomat born in Ploiești. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania from 1961 to 1972 and as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 19 September 19 ...

Constantin Pîrvulescu Constantin Pîrvulescu (November 10, 1895, Olănești, Vâlcea County – July 11, 1992, Roman) was a Romanian communist politician, one of the founders of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), who, as time went on, became an active opponent o ...

, and

Grigore Răceanu Grigore Ion Răceanu (1906–1996) was a Romanian communist politician and opponent of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Born in Cojocna, Cluj County, he became a train driver for Căile Ferate Române. He was also a trade union leader, being one of the organ ...

) drafting an

open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...

of protest (dubbed ''Scrisoarea celor șase'' – " Letter of the Six"), directed at the government and made public (on 11 March 1989) through the means of both

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

. According to Apostol, several ''Letter'' contributors expressed their concern at having to use

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power ( economic and ...

means of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. As a result, Apostol was placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...

, being constantly interrogated, in the hope that he would reveal himself as a "Soviet spy". The

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

, which the ''Letter'' had helped along, liberated him in December. Apostol expressed his dislike for many aspects of post 1989 Romania. Apostol died on 21 August 2010 at the age of 97.

Family

Apostol was married from 1935 to 1947. From 1944 he lived with, and later married, Melita Schaerf (d. 1991), a Romanian journalist. They separated in 1956 and subsequently divorced. In 1965, Apostol married his third wife, Adriana Codreanu (born 21 December 1934). He had three children.

References

*''Dosarele Istoriei'', 4/1996 *

Vladimir Tismăneanu Vladimir Tismăneanu (; born July 4, 1951) is a Romanian American political scientist, political analyst, sociologist, and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. A specialist in political systems and comparative politics, he is di ...

, ''Fantoma lui Gheorghiu-Dej'', Editura Univers, 1995

External links

* Călin Cosmaciuc
Blestemul glonțului "roșu"
''

Evenimentul Zilei ''Evenimentul Zilei'' is a formerly physical and now exclusively online newspaper in Romania. Its name means "today's even (news)". History and profile ''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nistorescu and Mihai Cârciog, and ...

'', March 13, 2007, accessed December 12, 2007 * Lavinia Betea
Ilegalistul disident Gheorghe Apostol
''

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchare ...

'', February 11, 2009, accessed August 23, 2010 * Vlad Stoicescu
A murit Gheorghe Apostol, ultimul mohican al epocii Dej
''

'', August 22, 2010, accessed August 23, 2010 * Lavinia Betea
A decedat Gheorghe Apostol, fostul concurent al lui Ceaușescu la cârma României
''

'', August 23, 2010, accessed August 23, 2010
Confesiunea lui Gheorghe Apostol, ultimul mohican al dinastiei comuniste
', ''

'', accessed August 23, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Apostol, Gheorghe General Secretaries of the Romanian Communist Party Deputy Prime Ministers of Romania Inmates of Târgu Jiu camp Inmates of Doftana prison People from Galați County Members of the Great National Assembly Presidents of the Great National Assembly Recipients of the Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic Romanian dissidents Romanian trade unionists Romanian communists Anti-revisionists 1913 births 2010 deaths Ambassadors of Romania to Argentina Ambassadors of Romania to Brazil Ambassadors of Romania to Uruguay People of the Romanian Revolution Romanian Ministers of Agriculture