Valentin Ceaușescu

Valentin Ceaușescu was born in Bucharest on 17 February 1948, less than two months after the establishment of the Romanian People's Republic. His father, future President Nicolae Ceaușescu, was an active member of the Romanian Workers' Party, earning himself various political and military positions; he was the country's Minister of Agriculture at the time Valentin was born. His mother was Elena Ceaușescu (née Petrescu).

Unlike many other members of his family, including his younger brother, Nicu, Valentin was not involved in politics. Attending the University of Bucharest, he completed his undergraduate degree in physics. In 1967, he decided to pursue further education by enrolling at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He played football as a goalkeeper on a college team during his time at Imperial College.

On 3 July 1970, Valentin Ceaușescu married Iordana (Dana) Borilă (d. 2017), the daughter of communist party leader Petre Borilă. Both fathers, then political rivals, strongly opposed their children's marriage. The resulting fight, which lasted for years, eventually resulted in Dana and their child, Daniel, being exiled to Canada. Dana and Valentin were divorced in 1989. Daniel, like his father, studied to be a physicist.

Valentin Ceaușescu remarried in 1995, and, with his new wife, he has a daughter, Alexandra.

In December 1989, during the Romanian Revolution, Valentin was arrested, along with the other members of his family. Known worldwide for their extravagant lifestyle, they were accused of undermining the economy of Romania.[1] Valentin is said to have had a position managing the Steaua București football club. He reported that he had watched the trial of his parents on television while he was under arrest.[1]

Valentin was freed from prison nine months later, after no charges were brought against him. During that time, his collection of 50 paintings by Romanian masters, engravings by Francisco Goya, and hundreds of rare books were confiscated. When he asked for restitution, the Romanian authorities argued that there are no documents which prove that he is the owner, and that the art collection belonged to the Romanian state, which promptly donated them to the National Museum of Art. Ceaușescu sued the government for restitution. The courts found in favour of Valentin in 2009, and ordered the museum to return forty pictures.[2] Most of the works were collected by him and his former wife. He planned to give most of them to Dana.[3]