See Also: Antonescu, Ion(encyclopedia)

Antonescu, Ion (sh)




born June 15, 1882, Pite?ti, Rom.
died June 1, 1946, near Jilava

Romanian general.

He rose in the Romanian army to the rank of general and chief of staff (1934) and later became minister of defense (1937-38). Appointed prime minister in 1940, he established a fascist dictatorship and openly supported the Axis Powers. Initially he won broad support for his domestic reforms and declaration of war against the Soviet Union (1941), but that support eroded. His regime was overthrown in 1944, and he was later executed as a war criminal.