section_path: Communist era
section_name: Communist era
paragraph_text: Communist era
  
  In the Communist era, the president was elected for a five-year term by the Great National Assembly (GNA) on the recommendation of the Romanian Communist Party 's Central Committee and the Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy, with no term limits. Ceaușescu was the only holder of the office under this system; he was elected by the GNA in 1974 and reelected in 1980 and 1985, each time unopposed. The president continued to serve as ex officio president of the State Council and had the right to act on any matter that did not require a State Council plenum. He also appointed and dismissed ministers and heads of central agencies. When the GNA was not in session (in practice, for most of the year), the president could appoint and dismiss the president of the Supreme Court and the prosecutor general without the State Council's approval; indeed, he was not even required to consult his State Council colleagues when making such decisions. Ceaușescu created the office to make himself the chief decision-maker in both name and fact. Previously, he had nominally been first among equals on the State Council, deriving his real power from his leadership of the Communist Party. In practice, he used his power to act on all matters that did not require a plenum to rule by decree. Over time, he also usurped many powers that constitutionally belonged to the State Council as a whole.