Manea Mănescu (9 August 1916 – 27 February 2009) was a

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

n communist politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

for five years (27 February 1974 – 29 March 1979) during

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 ...

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

. His father was a Communist Party veteran from

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commune ...

, who in the early 1920s supported the transformation of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

into the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Mănescu joined the PCR in 1938, while he was a student at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. In 1944, after

King Michael's Coup King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

, he worked together with

, his future brother-in-law, in the

Union of Communist Youth , colorcode = red , logo = Symbol of Union of Communist Youth.svg , caption = Emblem , logo2 = , caption2 = , founded = 1922 , dissolved = 1989 , headquarters = Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania ...

. In 1951, Mănescu was appointed as head of the Department of Economics at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

and Director General of the Central Directorate of Statistics. He served as Finance Minister from 1955 until 1957. In December 1967 he was appointed Chairman of the Economic Council. He was promoted to full membership of the Executive Committee of the PCR in December 1968 and, after holding various positions in the party and government, he became Prime Minister in March 1974, a position he held until 1979, when he retired, reportedly due to ill health.Biodata
/ref> Also in 1974 he became titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

. Mănescu stayed close to Ceaușescu and his wife,

Elena Ceaușescu Elena Ceaușescu (; ; 7 January 1916 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician who was the wife of Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania. She was also ...

up until 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 ...

of 1989. He left the Central Committee's building by helicopter together with them on 22 December, though he had to disembark at

Snagov Snagov (population: 7,272) is a commune, located north of Bucharest, in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. According to the 2011 census, 92% of the population is ethnic Romanian. The commune is composed of five villages: Ciofliceni, Ghermăneșt ...

due to too much weight in the craft. He was arrested shortly afterward and taken to the airbase at

Deveselu Deveselu () is a commune in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Comanca and Deveselu. Geography The commune is situated on the Wallachian Plain, about west of the river Olt. It is located in the south-central part of ...

, where he was kept in detention until 31 December. Tried in early 1990 together with

Emil Bobu Emil Bobu (22 February 1927 – 12 July 2014) was a Romanian Communist activist and politician, who served as Interior Minister from 1973 to 1975 and as Labor Minister from 1979 to 1981. He was an influential figure in the later years of the ...

, Ion Dincă, and

Tudor Postelnicu Tudor Postelnicu (13 November 1931 – 12 August 2017) was a Romanian Communist politician, who served as Director of the Securitate from March 1978 to October 1987, and then as Interior Minister until the 1989 Revolution. Biography Born in ...

, Mănescu was sentenced to life in prison for participation in genocide; on appeal, his sentence was reduced to 10 years. He served two years in prison, and was set free on 12 November 1992 due to poor health. Because of his conviction, he was stripped of his membership in the Romanian Academy. He died in 2009, aged 92, and was buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. Th ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Family

Mănescu's wife, Maria Munteanu Mănescu, was a well known pediatrician. In December 1973, she was named Vice Chairman of the Romanian Red Cross Society. She was also named a member of the (Romanian) National Council of Women in April 1978. It is not clear if the Mănescus had any children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manescu, Manea 1916 births 2009 deaths Politicians from Brăila People of the Romanian Revolution Prime Ministers of Romania Deputy Prime Ministers of Romania State Council of Romania Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian communists Romanian politicians convicted of crimes Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies alumni University of Bucharest faculty Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies faculty Burials at Bellu Cemetery Prisoners and detainees of Romania Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Romania