Ana Pauker Romanian politician Date of Birth: 13.02.1893 Country: Romania

1. Early Life and Political Beginnings
2. Communist Activism and Imprisonments
3. Moscow and International Work
4. Leadership Role in Romanian Communist Party
5. Return to Romania and Rise to Power
6. Domestic Policies and Controversies
7. Ouster and Later Life
8. Family

Early Life and Political Beginnings

Anna Paukerwas born into a poor Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania. Her parents were shohets, ritual slaughterers, and two of her six siblings died in infancy. Her younger brother was a Zionist. Pauker began working at age 12 and became a teacher at a Jewish elementary school in Bucharest at 17.

Communist Activism and Imprisonments

In 1915, Pauker joined the Social Democratic Party (later the Socialist Party of Romania). She became part of the pro-Bolshevik faction and helped bring the party into the Comintern. At the 2nd Congress of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP) in 1922, she was elected to its Central Committee. She and her husband, Marcel Pauker, became prominent party leaders. Both were arrested several times for their political activities and faced forced exile from 1926-1927.

Moscow and International Work

In 1928, Pauker attended the Comintern's International Lenin School in Moscow. She worked with Dimitrov and became an instructor for the Comintern in France and the Balkans. In 1935, she joined the Secretariat of the RCP's Central Committee.

Upon her return to Romania, she was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1938, her husband was executed in the Soviet Union. In 1941, Pauker was sent into exile in the Soviet Union. Despite rumors of self-criticism as a "Trotskyist," Comintern archival documents show she refused to do so.

Leadership Role in Romanian Communist Party

From 1941, Pauker represented the RCP at the Comintern and later led its foreign bureau and radio station in Moscow. She was appointed Commissioner of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Infantry Division named after Tudor Vladimirescu in 1944.

Return to Romania and Rise to Power

After the overthrow of the Antonescu regime in 1944, Pauker returned to Romania. She held several high-ranking positions, including member of the Politburo and Secretary of the RCP's Central Committee from 1945-1948. Following the merger of the RCP and Social Democratic Party into the Romanian Workers' Party (RWP), she became a member of the Politburo and Secretary of its Central Committee from 1948-1952. Pauker also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1947-1952.

Domestic Policies and Controversies

In 1948, Time magazine featured Pauker on its cover, calling her "the most influential woman alive." However, her policies soon drew criticism within the party. She was accused of recruiting too many new members into the communist party, including former members of the fascist Iron Guard. She also opposed the construction of the Danube-Black Sea Canal and the repression of Romanian communists during the Tito-Stalin conflict.

Ouster and Later Life

In 1952, Pauker was removed from power by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in a campaign against "Zionists" and "cosmopolitans." She was expelled from the Central Committee for alleged "factional activity." Pauker was arrested in 1953 and interrogated. After Stalin's death, she was released from prison but placed under house arrest. She worked as a translator but was not allowed to publish.

In 1959, Soviet authorities confirmed that her husband had been executed in 1938. Pauker died of breast cancer in 1960.

Family

Pauker had four children: Tanio, who died in infancy; Vlad, who lived in France; Tatiana, who also died in France; and Masha, who was born out of wedlock to Czech communist Eugen Fried. She also adopted a fifth child, Alexandru, in the late 1940s.