RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania on the international stage in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Romania was looking for its own voice on the international political arena.

Romania on the international stage in the 1960s
Romania on the international stage in the 1960s

, 03.05.2021, 14:00

In the 1960s, Romania was looking for its own voice on the international
political arena. Having moved, after 1945, under the sphere of influence of the
Soviet Union together with the whole of Eastern Europe, it was forced to change
its political and social-development model. Its foreign policy was also affected,
the break-up of ties with the western world being the first directive issued from
Moscow. From 1948, when the communist regime fully came to power, until the beginning of the 1960s,
isolationism and hostility towards the West and the capitalist world dominated Romania’s
foreign policy.




Stalin’s death in 1963, Khrushchev’s condemnation
of Stalin and the USSR’s intervention against the Hungarian revolution of 1956 were
some of the most important events leading up to a change in the international
relations of the former socialist bloc. The Soviet Union began to diminish its
control over the states it had occupied after 1945, while these countries’
communist leaders were trying to rebuild the ties affected after the war. Romania
was itself trying to rebuild its international identity. Its foreign ministry
was in need of a reformist leader, and Corneliu Mănescu,
Romania’s ambassador to Hungary, was believed to be fit for the job. In 1961,
he was summoned in Bucharest and told he would take over as Romania’s foreign
minister by the head of state himself, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.




At that time, Romania had diplomatic ties with around 30 states. Mănescu
believed this was risible and the first thing he did was opening an avenue of communication
with the United Nations, where Romania did find friends. One such friend was the
Burmese diplomat U Thant, the organisation’s third secretary general. Romania was
thus accepted as a United Nations member in 1955. In 1994, Radio Romania’s Oral
History Centre recorded an interview with Corneliu Mănescu, who was 78 at the
time:




U Thant was a great friend of Romania. He helped us become an
honourable member of the United Nations Organisation and establish the UN
centre in Bucharest, as well as with many other things. He did everything he
could to help us. In 1968, when Romania was at threat from [Russian] invasion, he
was the first person I got in touch with in New York and he promised to hold an
extraordinary international meeting of the United Nations to support us. So, we
owe him our respect and gratitude.




Corneliu Mănescu also sought to restore Romania’s ties with the West,
beginning with France:




In 1961, when I took over the foreign ministry, Romania almost only had
ties with the states in the Warsaw Pact. With the western states, alongside
which we fought against Hitler’s armies, we had been in a state of near war since
1945. Relations had been almost frozen. From 1961, we systematically began to
expand our ties. First of all, we restored relations with countries like
France. In 1961, our relations with France were almost non-existent. I met the
then French foreign minister Couve de Murville in 1961 in the first year of my
tenure and he invited me to France. I immediately said yes, which wasn’t regular
practice. It wasn’t customary for someone to make such a decision on their own.
Of course, I later also received the approval from back home.




Another western country Romania set its sights on was Italy:




Romania was having an unforgivable attitude towards international
organisations, it was rejecting them, rejecting assistance. I will never forget
a discussion I had with the Italian prime minister Amintore Fanfani in
Bucharest when I told him Romania needed the help of industrial countries, such
as Italy. And he said ‘What took you so long? We waited for you to ask for our
help but you never asked. So, we gave our help to the countries who asked,
especially Yugoslavia’. These were Fanfani’s words.




Romania would make the big step in 1967, namely restoring ties with West
Germany. Romanian communist-era foreign minister Corneliu Mănescu recalls:




At around that time I gave an interview to a reporter from The Christian Science Monitor, his name was Rossi and was working in New York.
He asked me about our attitude towards West Germany, whether we wanted ties
with them, whether we believe we should have a formalised, stable relationship.
And he also asked if I thought Germany was fascist, to which I categorically replied:
‘No!’ This interview sparked a lot of discontent among the other Warsaw Pact
countries, especially East Germany, who protested vehemently. They asked me
what right did I have to express such a position. But this didn’t change anything,
things had been clarified, it was something that needed to be done.




Corneliu Mănescu was a successful foreign minister and enjoyed support
from the highest level. On 19th September 1967, he was elected
president of the 22nd session of the UN General Assembly, being the
first representative of a socialist country to occupy this position. At this
time, Romania’s image abroad was excellent, something it would go on to take
advantage of throughout the 1980s. (CM)

General Gheorghe Avramescu
The History Show Monday, 31 March 2025

General Gheorghe Avramescu

The Romanian army throughout its history had generals who, with conspicuous gallantry, participated in the large-scale conflicts Romania was involved...

General Gheorghe Avramescu
80 years since the installation of Petru Groza’s pro-communist government
The History Show Monday, 17 March 2025

80 years since the installation of Petru Groza’s pro-communist government

March 6, 1945, is one of the dates with a deeply negative significance in the history of contemporary Romania. On that day, following pressure from...

80 years since the installation of Petru Groza’s pro-communist government
Photo: TVR (YouTube screenshot)
The History Show Monday, 10 March 2025

The “Reflector” television show

  The history of the mass media during communist years includes a small, somewhat honourable chapter, in which journalists tried to implement...

The “Reflector” television show
banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg
The History Show Monday, 03 March 2025

Romania’s post-war communist prisons

The town of Aiud, in western Romania, had acquired a dismal fame. With a population of roughly 22,000 people, the town came to be known thanks to the...

Romania’s post-war communist prisons
The History Show Monday, 24 February 2025

The Demolition of Bucharest’s Religious Heritage

The history of the religious heritage of Bucharest in the 20th century, especially in its second half, was one of mortal blows inflicted by the...

The Demolition of Bucharest’s Religious Heritage
The History Show Monday, 17 February 2025

Centennial of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate

In 2025, the Romanian Orthodox Church marks 140 years since the recognition of its Autocephaly (April 25th, 1885) and 100 years since its elevation...

Centennial of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate
The History Show Monday, 10 February 2025

Romanian-Japanese Diplomatic Relations

Regardless of physical distances, people, communities and societies come closer because they feel and desire closeness. Until the 20th century, when...

Romanian-Japanese Diplomatic Relations
The History Show Monday, 03 February 2025

50 Years Since the Helsinki Accords

After 1945, Europe was brutally divided, and the hopes of Europeans that at the end of the Second World War, once freed from fascism, they would...

50 Years Since the Helsinki Accords

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company