Ilie Verdeț (10 May 1925 – 20 March 2001) was a Romanian communist politician who served as Romania’s Prime Minister from 1979 to 1982.

Ilie Verdeț
51st Prime Minister of Romania
In office
29 March 1979 – 21 May 1982
PresidentNicolae Ceaușescu
Preceded byManea Mănescu
Succeeded byConstantin Dăscălescu
In office
22 December 1989 – 22 December 1989
Preceded byConstantin Dăscălescu
Succeeded byPetre Roman
Vice President of the State Council
In office
1982–1982
PresidentNicolae Ceaușescu
Succeeded byManea Manescu
First Vice President of the Council of Ministers
In office
3 January 1967 – 30 March 1979
Prime MinisterIon Gheorghe Maurer
Manea Manescu
Preceded byEmil Bodnăraș
Succeeded byGheorghe Oprea
Chairman of the State Planning Committee
In office
7 March 1978 – 29 March 1979
Prime MinisterManea Manescu
Preceded byMihai Marinescu
Succeeded byNicolae Constantin
Minister of Mines
In office
18 October 1985 – 20 June 1986
Prime MinisterConstantin Dăscălescu
Preceded byMarin Ștefanache
Succeeded byMinistry dissolved
Chairman of the Socialist Party of Labour
In office
16 November 1990 – 20 March 2001
Succeeded byIon Sasu
Personal details
Born(1925-05-10)10 May 1925
Comănești, Kingdom of Romania
Died20 March 2001(2001-03-20) (aged 75)
Bucharest, Romania
Political partyRomanian Communist Party (1945–1989)
Socialist Party of Labour (1990–2001)
SpouseReghina Graumann (1947–2001)
Alma materBucharest Academy of Economic Studies

Biography

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Born in Comănești, Bacău County, and a miner from age 12, he joined the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) in 1945. After graduating from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, he climbed through the party apparatus. By the early 1960s, he was working in the central office of the PCR in Bucharest, as deputy of Nicolae Ceauşescu, who was in charge of party organization and appointments. After the death of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in March 1965, Verdeț helped Ceaușescu gain the position of Secretary General of the PCR.

Soon afterwards, Verdeț was promoted to the Permanent Bureau of the Political Executive Committee of the PCR. He held many political positions, including those of Deputy Prime Minister (1966–1974) and Prime Minister of Romania (1979–1982). He was sent by Ceaușescu to solve the Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977, but was unable to negotiate and was held hostage for two days (which he had later denied).

After the fall of Ceaușescu in December 1989, Verdeţ declared himself the head of a provisional government, but it only lasted for about 20 minutes, after which he was pushed aside by Ion Iliescu, who emerged as the leader of the National Salvation Front (FSN).

Subsequently, in 1990, Verdeț founded a political party called Socialist Party of Labour (Romanian: Partidul Socialist al Muncii, PSM), which narrowly entered Parliament in the 1992 elections, but in the next elections failed to win any seats. He remained the leader of PSM until the 2000 elections, after which he was removed from this position.

He died of a heart attack in 2001 in Bucharest at the age of 75.

Private life

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Verdeț and his wife Reghina married in 1947. They had two daughters: Doina (b. 1948) and Cezarina (b. 1953).

References

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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Romania
1979–1982
Succeeded by