About  |   Contact  |  Mongabay on Facebook  |  Mongabay on Twitter  |  Subscribe
Rainforests | Tropical fish | Environmental news | For kids | Madagascar | Photos

Romania-Command and Control of the Armed Forces





MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)







WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Email:


Romania Index

In 1989 Romania had a well-developed centralized system for administering and directing its armed forces. The government had nominal responsibility for the armed forces, but the PCR hierarchy exercised real authority. As PCR general secretary and chief of state, Ceausescu also held the powerful positions of supreme commander of the armed forces and chairman of the Defense Council.

Yet there have been periodic indications of friction between the professional military and the Ceausescu regime. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Ceausescu had legitimate reasons to be concerned about the potential for a pro-Soviet military coup d'état. His policy of remaining independent of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact made him more dependent on the loyalty and reliability of the armed forces to maintain his political power than was the case in other communist regimes in Eastern Europe, which could rely on Soviet intervention to preserve their rule against domestic challenges.

Data as of July 1989











Copyright mongabay 2000-2013