Death and Legacy
Gheorghiu-Dej died of lung cancer in Bucharest on March 19, 1965. Some claim that he was intentionally irradiated during a visit to Moscow, due to his political stance. Gheorghe Apostol argued that he had been appointed successor by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej himself, and was in any case perceived as such in 1965. Ion Gheorghe Maurer, who had developed a hostility towards Apostol, made sure that he was prevented from gaining power, rallying the Party leadership around Nicolae Ceauşescu - a protégé of Gheorghiu-Dej, and a figure of secondary importance at the time. The highest-ranking Soviet Bloc intelligence defector, Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa described a conversation with Nicolae Ceauşescu, who told him about "ten international leaders the Kremlin killed or tried to kill"; Gheorghiu-Dej was one of them
Gheorghiu-Dej was buried in a mausoleum in Liberty Park in Bucharest. In 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, his body was exhumed and reburied in a city cemetery. The Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, renamed to Polytechnic Institute "Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej" Bucharest in his honor, is now known as the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. The city of Oneşti was once named Gheorghe-Gheorghiu Dej. Also, the Russian city of Liski was named, during 1965-1990, Georgiu-Dezh in his honor.
Gheorghiu-Dej was married to Maria Alexe and they had two daughters: Vasilica (1928–1987) and Constantina (born 1931).
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Famous quotes containing the words death and/or legacy:
“The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, lover, which seemed nothing but privation, somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or style of living, and allows for the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)