Nicolae Ceauşescu’s last working visit in Timiş County (September 14–15, 1988)

Abstract

On September 14th and September 15th, 1988, Nicolae Ceauşescu, accompanied by Elena Ceauşescu and other communist dignitaries, made his last working visit to Timiş County, on the occasion of the opening of the new school year. The Romanian communist leader visited a number of industrial and agricultural enterprises, as well as educational institutions. The visit, meticulously prepared, had, for the most part, a festiv character, highlighting the strong cult of the leader’s personality. The transcript of the meeting between Ceauşescu and the political and economic decision-makers from the county leadership reveals the delicate situation in which most of the region’s economy was. In fact, Nicolae Ceauşescu’s visit to Timiş County took place at a time when the economic crisis Romania was facing was intensifying, and the population’s standard of living was getting lower, situation that determined, just a year and three months since the event we are analyzing, the outbreak of the revolt in Timişoara that led to the overthrow of Ceauşescu and the communist regime.

Keywords

• timiş county
• working visit
• nicolae ceauşescu
• 1988
• cult of personality
• economic crisis.