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Witness History: When The Queen met Ceaușescu

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When The Queen met Ceaușescu

20/08/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, When The Queen met Ceaușescu

It was the first time a communist leader had been given a full state visit to the UK

Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu, was the first communist leader to be given a full state visit to the UK, but it was controversial from the outset.

Nicolae Ceaușescu was the first communist leader to be given a full state visit to the UK, but it was controversial from the outset. The Romanian president was a known dictator who ran a brutal regime, but Britain was still cash-strapped after World War Two and was desperate to build new trading partners.  Dorian Galbinski was one of the main translators for the visit and he explains to Rebecca Kesby some of the background to the event.

(Photo: June 1978: Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu rides in the state carriage with Queen Elizabeth II on his official visit to Britain. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)

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