Initially hailed as the man who would lead Romania into a new democratic era, Iliescu's legacy soon became more complicated. His leadership steered the nation through its fragile early years of democracy and towards eventual integration with Nato and the European Union, achievements that many credit to his steady hand.

As a three-term as president, he guided the country toward democracy, but he was called an authoritarian at heart and accused of brutality during the revolt that put him in power.

Ion Iliescu, who has died aged 95, was a Romanian politician who approved the summary execution of his predecessor, the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, during the Christmas uprising of 1989, and then stepped into the presidential vacuum himself.