Virgil Trofin
Encyclopedia
Virgil Trofin was a Romania
n communist
activist and politician, who served as minister under the Communist regime
.
, Trofin had an early career as a mechanical fitter
and boilermaker
. He was relatively close to Communist Party
leader Ana Pauker
before she was purged from office in 1953: he named his daughter in her honor (a common habit among prominent communists of the time).
Rallying with General Secretary
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
, he was among the younger activists to be promoted by the latter in the wake of Pauker's downfall. From June 1956 to June 1964, he was First Secretary of the Union of Communist Youth
. In this capacity, Trofin spoke out against the Bucharest student movement
in November 1956, declaring "We have to know how many enemies there are in our country and are trying to fight against our party".
His influence in the government increased due to his work in eliminating the primary obstacle to Nicolae Ceauşescu
's rise to power, Gheorghe Apostol
(during which time he joined the Politburo
and Central Committee
). A secretary of the Central Committee charged with cadre policies after 1965, Trofin served for a time as Deputy Prime Minister. From 1969 to 1971 he was chairman of the National Union of Agricultural Production Co-operatives.
In 1971 he was appointed as chairman of the Central Council of the General Union of Trade Unions but replaced in the party secretariat by Ion Iliescu
(a Radio Free Europe
analysis at the time proposed either that Trofin was demoted or that the Party placed more emphasis on workers by placing a high-ranking activist as union policy maker). He had his ups and downs in his relationship with Ceauşescu (with corresponding career successes and failures). In 1979 he replaced Vasile Patilineţ as Minister of Mines, Oil and Geology.
In November 1981, Trofin was accused of being responsible for sending poor-quality coal to power stations, expelled from the Central Committee, and demoted to being chairman of the Central Committee of Artisans' Cooperatives, and, after further confrontations with the leadership, director of a collective farm. In Victor Frunză's view, the charge was actually a cover-up for Ceauşescu's own mismanagement of the mining industry (before and after the Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977
).
Based on various pieces of evidence, it was contended that he committed suicide. Contrary to official practice, no obituary
was published in Communist Party newspapers, and the cause of death was not disclosed.
, January 31, 2006
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
activist and politician, who served as minister under the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
.
Biography
Born in VasluiVaslui
Vaslui , a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Moldavia.The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu and Viişoara.-History:...
, Trofin had an early career as a mechanical fitter
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
and boilermaker
Boilermaker
A boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
. He was relatively close to Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
leader Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
before she was purged from office in 1953: he named his daughter in her honor (a common habit among prominent communists of the time).
Rallying with General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
, he was among the younger activists to be promoted by the latter in the wake of Pauker's downfall. From June 1956 to June 1964, he was First Secretary of the Union of Communist Youth
Union of Communist Youth
The Union of Communist Youth was the Romanian Communist Party's youth organisation, modelled after the Soviet Komsomol. It aimed to cultivate young cadres into the party, as well as to help create the "new man" envisioned by communist ideologues.-History:Founded in 1922, the UTC went underground...
. In this capacity, Trofin spoke out against the Bucharest student movement
Bucharest student movement of 1956
The events in Poland which led to the elimination of that country's Stalinist leadership and the rise to power of Władysław Gomułka on 19 October 1956 provoked unrest among university students in Eastern bloc countries. The state of unrest in Poland began to spread into Hungary...
in November 1956, declaring "We have to know how many enemies there are in our country and are trying to fight against our party".
His influence in the government increased due to his work in eliminating the primary obstacle to Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
's rise to power, Gheorghe Apostol
Gheorghe Apostol
Gheorghe Apostol was a Romanian politician, deputy Prime Minister of Romania and a former leader of the Communist Party, noted for his rivalry with Nicolae Ceauşescu.-Early life:...
(during which time he joined the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
). A secretary of the Central Committee charged with cadre policies after 1965, Trofin served for a time as Deputy Prime Minister. From 1969 to 1971 he was chairman of the National Union of Agricultural Production Co-operatives.
In 1971 he was appointed as chairman of the Central Council of the General Union of Trade Unions but replaced in the party secretariat by Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....
(a Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
analysis at the time proposed either that Trofin was demoted or that the Party placed more emphasis on workers by placing a high-ranking activist as union policy maker). He had his ups and downs in his relationship with Ceauşescu (with corresponding career successes and failures). In 1979 he replaced Vasile Patilineţ as Minister of Mines, Oil and Geology.
In November 1981, Trofin was accused of being responsible for sending poor-quality coal to power stations, expelled from the Central Committee, and demoted to being chairman of the Central Committee of Artisans' Cooperatives, and, after further confrontations with the leadership, director of a collective farm. In Victor Frunză's view, the charge was actually a cover-up for Ceauşescu's own mismanagement of the mining industry (before and after the Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977
Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977
The Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977 was the largest protest movement against the Communist regime in Romania before its final days, ushering in a period of intermittent labour unrest that would last a dozen years, and the most important challenge posed by a group of workers to the regime since...
).
Based on various pieces of evidence, it was contended that he committed suicide. Contrary to official practice, no obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
was published in Communist Party newspapers, and the cause of death was not disclosed.
External links
Remus Radu, "Războiul de peste 30 de ani dintre oraşe cu vanităţi istorice" ("The War of over 30 Years between Cities with Historical Conceits"), in CotidianulCotidianul
thumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007...
, January 31, 2006