Ministry of Internal Affairs Bucharest: The Central Committee Palace

The Ministry of Internal Affairs Bucharest place is the palace associated with Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs, and its balcony is tied to the opening moments of the 21 December 1989 rally and speech by Nicolae Ceaușescu. The high-pitched scream heard just over a minute into that speech gives this building a specific place in the documented events of the Romanian Revolution.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania is one of the eighteen ministries of the Government of Romania. This page concerns the Bucharest palace connected with that ministry, rather than an unspecified ministry in another country.

Why was this palace once called the Central Committee?

Before 1989, the palace was known as the Central Committee. The Central Committee was the name of the central executive body of the Romanian Communist Party, which made decisions on behalf of the party between two congresses.

That former name is essential to identifying the building in accounts of the 1989 events. The balcony described in the Bucharest 1989 Revolution Tour is the balcony of the Central Committee building, not simply an unnamed government-office balcony.

What happened at the palace on 21 December 1989?

On the morning of 21 December 1989, Nicolae Ceaușescu addressed an assembly of approximately 100,000 people from the balcony of the Central Committee building. The rally was presented as a show of continued popularity and was organized by Barbu Petrescu, the mayor of Bucharest.

After a short introduction from Petrescu, Ceaușescu began by greeting the crowd, thanking the rally's organizers and thanking the residents of Bucharest. Just over a minute into the speech, a high-pitched scream was heard in the distance. The tour's stop at this place documents that moment without resolving what followed.

What should you remember about this Bucharest place?

Remember the building through its two documented identities: the palace associated with Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs and the former Central Committee palace. Its balcony is specifically connected to Ceaușescu's 21 December 1989 speech, the rally organized by Barbu Petrescu, and the high-pitched scream heard shortly after the speech began.

Share this page with the Bucharest companion or history enthusiast who wants to locate the 1989 speech site, then encounter the place within the documented route of the Bucharest 1989 Revolution Tour.