Valentin Ceaușescu (born 17 February 1948) is a Romanian
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate ca ...
. He is the eldest and only surviving child of former communist President
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 w ...
and his wife,
Elena.
Biography
Early life and education
Valentin Ceaușescu was born in
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 ...
on 17 February 1948, less than two months after the establishment of the
Romanian People's Republic
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 ...
. His father, future President
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 w ...
, was an active member of the
Romanian Workers' Party
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro- Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that ...
, earning himself various political and military positions; he was the country's Minister of Agriculture at the time Valentin was born. His mother was
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 ...
(''née'' Petrescu). He had two siblings:
Zoia Zoia is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Zoia Ceaușescu (1949–2006), Romanian mathematician
*Zoia Duriagina (born 1950), Ukrainian scientist
*Zoia Gaidai (1902–1965), Soviet Ukrainian opera so ...
, born in 1949, and
Nicu
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life. Neonatal care, as kn ...
, born in 1951.
Unlike many other members of
his family
''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918.
Plot introduction
''His Family'' tells the story of ...
, including his younger brother, Nicu, Valentin was not involved in politics. After graduating in 1965 from the
Dr. Petru Groza High School, he enrolled in the Faculty of Physics of 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 Princ ...
. In 1967, he decided to pursue further education by enrolling at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...
in the United Kingdom. He played
football as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
on a college team during his time at Imperial College. After graduating in 1970 with a degree in physics, he returned to Romania.
Marriages and children
On 3 July 1970, Valentin Ceaușescu married Iordana (Dana) Borilă (1946–2017), the daughter of communist party leader
Petre Borilă
Petre Borilă (born Iordan Dragan Rusev; Bulgarian: Йордан Драган Русев, ''Yordan Dragan Rusev''; 13 February 1906 – 2 January 1973) was a Romanian communist politician who briefly served as Vice-Premier under the Communist ...
. Both fathers, then political rivals, strongly opposed their children's marriage. The resulting fight, which lasted for years, eventually resulted in Dana and Valentin divorcing in 1989. After 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 ...
, Dana and their child, Daniel, emigrated to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and from there, to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
; Daniel Ceaușescu, like his father, studied to be a physicist.
Valentin Ceaușescu married for a second time in 1995, and, with his new wife, Roxana Dună, he has a daughter, Alexandra, who studied architecture.
Arrest and later life
In
December 1989, during the Romanian Revolution, Valentin was arrested, along with the other members of his family. Known worldwide for their extravagant lifestyle, they were accused of undermining the
economy of Romania
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
.
Valentin is said to have had a position managing the
Steaua București football club. He reported that he had watched
the trial of his parents on television while he was under arrest.
Valentin was freed from prison nine months later, after no charges were brought against him. During that time, his collection of 50 paintings by Romanian masters, engravings by
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...
, and hundreds of rare books were confiscated. When he asked for restitution, the Romanian authorities argued that there are no documents which prove that he is the owner, and that the art collection belonged to the Romanian state, which promptly donated them to the
National Museum of Art. In 2001, Ceaușescu sued the government for restitution. The courts found in favour of Valentin in 2009, and ordered the museum to return forty pictures. Most of the works were collected by him and his former wife; he planned to give most of them to Dana.
Scientific career
After completing his graduate work in 1970, Valentin Ceaușescu became a faculty member at the
Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering. Working at the (IFA) lab in
Măgurele
Măgurele is a town situated in the southwestern part of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It has a population of 11,000 and hosts several research institutes.
Research institutes
The town hosts ''Măgurele Science Park'', the largest science par ...
, he performed
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
research. He retired in 2016. It was reported that he lives modestly on his pension of about
RON 2,000 (about €450). He lives in a house owned by his current father-in-law, Constantin Dună.
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Interviu Valentin Ceaușescu despre Steaua, Dinamo și amănunte în premieră despre viața lui Cristian Otopeanu, www.dolcesport.ro
* Bogdan Costescu
''Valentin Ceaușescu încearcă să recupereze averea familiei, acuzând Parchetul General''("Valentin Ceaușescu tries to regain the family fortune accusing the General State's Attorney Office"), ''
Gardianul'', 28 October 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceausescu, Valentin
1948 births
Living people
Children of national leaders
Valentin Ceausescu
Scientists from Bucharest
University of Bucharest alumni
Alumni of Imperial College London
Romanian nuclear physicists