Gheorghe Gaston Marin
Gheorghe Gaston Marin was a Romanian communist politician who had many roles under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Ceauşescu. He was born Gheorghe Grossmann in Pădureni, Arad County. In the 1980s, he emigrated to Israel, but later returned to Bucharest, where he died.
Born into a Jewish family, Marin studied electrical engineering at Grenoble, France. A member of the French Resistance, he was given charge of the FTP-MOI's south-western region. In July 1944 he instigated the revolt at the Tarn mines, one of the first steps in the French liberation from German occupation. In August 1944, Gaston liberated the French city of Carmaux, capturing 120 German soldiers. A few days later, he also liberated Albi, the capital of the Tarn region.
After the start of Communist Romania, he became Councillor of the Romanian Council of Ministers in 1945–1949 and Minister of the Economy in 1948–49; he was part of Romania's delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. From 1949 to 1954, Gaston Marin was Minister of Electrical Energy and Electrical Industry, and then, up to 1965, President of the Planning Committee. In 1955–1966, he served as President of State Committee for Nuclear Energy, and was Vice-president of the Ministerial council, as well as Minister of Metallurgy, Mining, Chemistry, Transport and Telecommunications, Building, Chemical Industry, and National Trading.
In 1963, after attending John F. Kennedy's funeral, he established diplomatic relations with the Western world, including the United States. Those steps were highly encouraged by the US government and US President Lyndon B. Johnson, and gained Romania a privileged communist country status.
From 1969 to 1982, Marin was President of the Pricing Committee, until being removed from official positions by Ceaușescu, being by far the last Gheorghiu-Dej supporter to be eliminated from the Romanian government.
In his youth, he was a member of Poalei Zion and, in the 1980s, made aliyah, but returned to Romania.
He had three, or more, children: Ileana, Jackie, and son Minu.
