Conducător

Conducător (Romanian: [kondukəˈtor], "Leader") was the title used officially in two instances by Romanian politicians, and earlier by Carol II.

The word is derived from the Romanian verb a conduce, from the Latin ducere ("to lead"), cognate with such titles as dux, duke, duce and doge. Its meaning also parallels other titles, such as Führer in Nazi Germany and caudillo in Francoist Spain.

It was first employed as an additional title by King Carol II during the final years of the National Renaissance Front regime, and soon after employed by Marshal Ion Antonescu as he assumed dictatorial powers after September 14, 1940. Nominally, Antonescu was Prime Minister and the role of head of state was filled by King Michael, but all real power rested with Antonescu. According to historian Adrian Cioroianu, through the use of the term, Antonescu meant to highlight connections with Germany, and after the fall of the Iron Guard from shared government (the National Legionary State), his own personal regime.

The title was revived during the Communist rule of Romania by President Nicolae Ceaușescu, starting in the period after 1968, at a time when the Romanian Communist Party grew in membership but decreased in importance (in front of Ceaușescu's personality cult). It was used in parallel with the rarer cârmaci ("helmsman"), in turn borrowed from similar rhetoric in communist states such as North Korea and Maoist China. While references to the Party as the "vanguard of the working class" fell out of use, power became centered on Ceauşescu's prerogative to issue orders to the political apparatus.

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