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Ion Iliescu's Death Exposes Romania's Deep Divisions over His Legacy as Former Leader Laid to Rest
ROMANIA, AUG 6 – Ion Iliescu, Romania's first post-communist president, died at 95 amid unresolved legal charges and a divided public legacy, with a national day of mourning declared.
- Ion Iliescu, Romania's first elected president after communism, died at age 95 on August 5, 2025, in Bucharest after a lung cancer diagnosis.
- He assumed power following the 1989 execution of Nicolae Ceausescu and was charged twice with crimes against humanity for violent crackdowns on protesters in 1990.
- Iliescu led Romania through its transition from communism to democracy, supporting NATO accession in 2004, and his death sparked both mourning and protests against his legacy.
- PSD, the party he founded, called his death 'a very sad day,' while the Save Romania Union opposed the national mourning and did not attend the funeral.
- Iliescu’s passing revealed deep divisions over his role in Romania's violent transition, with his legal cases unresolved and his influence on the country's modern history remaining disputed.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Ion Iliescu, Romania's first post-communist president, passed away on August 5 at the age of 95. On Thursday, he was solemnly buried in an act of state. He was investigated until the last time, as the prosecutor's office accused him of crimes against humanity committed during the 1989 revolution.
Gigi Becali was present on Wednesday, 6 August 2025, to bring a final tribute to the former President of Romania, Ion Iliescu. It was written at the Cotroceni Palace, during the official funeral ceremony. The article Gigi Becali, hosted at Ion Iliescu's cataphal. "If it wasn't for him, we would have gotten foreign slaves" appeared for the first time in Romania TV.
Several hundred people have gone to Ion Iliescu's cataphalt in the first hours since the opening of the Cotroceni Palace for the public. They have thrown flowers and candles and brought him a tribute to the former chief of...
Associated Press News
Casket of Romania's divisive first post-communist president, Ion Iliescu, lies in state for funeral
The casket carrying the body of Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first elected president after the bloody fall of communism in 1989, was transferred on Wednesday from the hospital where he died to the capital’s presidential palace for a state funeral as the late leader’s death continues to divide opinion.
According to information provided by the Government, the program of state funerals provides that Ion Iliescu's writing with his body will leave at 8:30 a.m. on the hospital to the Cotroceni Palace. At the intersection of the Sanitary Hero...
Ion Iliescu, the first president of Romania after the fall of communism, died at 95 years of age after lung cancer. He was the President of Romania three times and was sent to trial for crimes against humanity in the Minerade file of 13-15 June 1990, researching for the same crime and in the Revolution, where he lost my life. He was admitted to the Emergency Hospital “Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu” on 8 June, having worked twice and devoted to inten…
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Bias Distribution
- 36% of the sources lean Left, 36% of the sources are Center
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