Page "History of Romania" Paragraph 72

After the negotiated retreat of Soviet troops, Romania, under the new leadership of Nicolae Ceauşescu, started to pursue independent policies, including the condemnation of the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia ( Romania being the only Warsaw Pact country not to take part in the invasion ), the continuation of diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967 ( again, the only Warsaw Pact country to do so ), and the establishment of economic ( 1963 ) and diplomatic ( 1967 ) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Also, close ties with the Arab countries ( and the PLO ) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel-Egypt and Israel-PLO peace processes by intermediating the visit of Sadat in Israel.

As Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 ( from 3 to 10 billion US dollars ), the influence of international financial organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank grew, conflicting with Nicolae Ceauşescu's autarchic policies.

Ceauşescu eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt ( completed in 1989, shortly before his overthrow ).

To achieve this goal, he imposed policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy.

He greatly extended the authority of the police state and imposed a cult of personality.

These led to a dramatic decrease in Ceauşescu's popularity and culminated in his overthrow and execution in the bloody Romanian Revolution of 1989.