From 1947 to 1989, Romania was a socialist republic. From 1947 to 1965, it was called Romanian People's Republic ("Republica Populară Romînă", RPR). In 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power. He succeeded Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who died of cancer that year. To reflect the change, the state was renamed to Socialist Republic of Romania. After the fall of the Berlin wall, in 1989, there was a revolution. Protesters wanted Ceaușescu to step down. During demostrations, Romanian Secret police, Securitate used weapons. Part of the regular armed forces joined the protests. Over 1000 people were killed in the fights that resulted. Ceaușescu was captured, and tried before a military tribunal. The tribunal sentenced him and his wife to death. Together with his wife, he was shot, on December 25, 1989. Ion Iliescu became the new president.