<Tr> <Th> Years of service </Th> <Td> 1948--1989 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Rank </Th> <Td> Lieutenant General </Td> </Tr> <P> Nicolae Ceaușescu (Romanian: (nikoˈla. e t͡ʃe̯a. uˈʃesku) (listen); 26 January 1918--25 December 1989) was a Romanian Communist politician . He was general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and hence the second and last Communist leader of Romania . He was also the country's head of state from 1967, serving as President of the State Council, from 1974 concurrently as President of the Republic, until his overthrow in the Romanian Revolution in 1989 . </P> <P> Born in 1918 in Scornicești, Olt County, Ceaușescu was a member of the Romanian Communist youth movement, Ceaușescu rose up through the ranks of Gheorghe Gheorghiu - Dej's Socialist government and, upon the death of Gheorghiu - Dej in 1965, he succeeded to the leadership of Romania's Communist Party as General Secretary . </P>

Oppressive communist leader of romania who was deposed in 1989