Valentin Ceaușescu
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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 cau ...
. He is the eldest and only surviving child of former communist President Nicolae Ceaușescu and Elena Ceaușescu.


Biography


Early life and education

Valentin Ceaușescu was born in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
on 17 February 1948. His father, future President Nicolae Ceaușescu, was an active member of the Romanian Workers' Party, 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 (''née'' Petrescu). He had two siblings: Zoia, born in 1949 and Nicu, born in 1951. Unlike many other members of his family, 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 (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
. In 1967, he decided to pursue further education by enrolling at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He played
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
as a goalkeeper 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 (1945–2017), the daughter of communist party leader Petre Borilă. 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 1988. After the
Romanian revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
, Dana and their child, Daniel, emigrated to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, before they went on from there to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
; Daniel Ceaușescu, like his father, studied to be a physicist. Valentin Ceaușescu later married for a second time in 1995; 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. 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; both of his parents had been executed. During that time, his collection of 50 paintings by Romanian masters, engravings by
Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
, in addition to hundreds of rare books, were confiscated. When he asked for restitution, the Romanian authorities argued that there were no documents that proved he was the owner, as well as 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 ruled in his favour 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 . Working at the (IFA) lab in Măgurele, 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 th ...
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 1946 births Living people Children of presidents Valentin Ceausescu Scientists from Bucharest University of Bucharest alumni Alumni of Imperial College London Romanian nuclear physicists Tudor Vianu National College of Computer Science alumni