Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu
Minister of Justice of Romania
In office
23 August 1944  23 February 1948
Prime MinisterConstantin Sănătescu
Nicolae Rădescu
Petru Groza
Preceded byIon C. Marinescu
Succeeded byAvram Bunaciu
Personal details
Born(1900-11-04)4 November 1900
Bacău, Kingdom of Romania
Died17 April 1954(1954-04-17) (aged 53)
Jilava Prison, Ilfov County, Romanian People's Republic
Cause of deathExecution by shooting
Political partyRomanian Communist Party
Spouse(s)Elena Pătrășcanu, née Schwamern
Parent(s)Dimitrie D. Pătrășcanu
Lucreția Pătrășcanu
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Leipzig University
ProfessionLawyer

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (Romanian pronunciation: [luˈkretsju pətrəʃˈkanu]; 4 November 1900 – 17 April 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at the University of Bucharest. Pătrășcanu rose to a government position before the end of World War II and, after having disagreed with Stalinist tenets on several occasions, eventually came into conflict with the Romanian Communist government of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. He became a political prisoner and was ultimately executed. Fourteen years after Pătrășcanu's death, Romania's new communist leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, endorsed his rehabilitation as part of a change in policy.