Nicolae Pleșiță Nicolae Pleșiță Nicolae Pleșiță (; April 26, 1929 – September 28, 2009) was a Romanian intelligence official and secret police investigator. From 1980 to 1984, he led the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Securitate, the secret service of Communist Romania. He was described by the "New York Times" and Associated Press at the time of his death as "a die-hard Communist and ruthless chief of the Securitate secret police." A participant in various actions taken against armed or peaceful anti-communist groups, Pleșiță began his career as a Romanian Communist Party cadre, and rose through the ranks of the Securitate while
Romanian Communist Party the Romanian political scene in August 1944, when it became involved in the royal coup that toppled the pro-Nazi government of Ion Antonescu. With support from Soviet occupation forces, the PCR was able to force King Michael I into exile, and establish undisguised Communist rule in 1948. The party operated under the title of Romanian Workers' Party from 1948 until 1965 when it was officially renamed by Nicolae Ceaușescu who had just been elected secretary general. From 1953 until 1989, it was for all intents and purposes the only legally permitted party in the country. In 1947, the Communist Party