trials in the
Craiova Prison yard. Top row, from the left:
Gheorghe Vasilichi,
Dumitru Petrescu,
Constantin Doncea,
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. Stoica is on the bottom row, to the right In spring 1931, Stoica started working for the Grivița Railway Yards, where he met
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej,
Vasile Luca, and
Constantin Doncea; together, they started organizing a strike. He spent time at the
Aiud,
Doftana,
Târgu Ocna,
Văcărești, and
Caransebeș prisons. In 1940, his sentence was reduced to 9 years of
hard labor. Later, the War Council of the 1st Army Corps pardoned him, but he was interned in the
Târgu Jiu camp. At the internment camp, he was close to Gheorghiu-Dej, who may have wanted Stoica to be his successor as
General Secretary. , 18 January 1963 He was a member of the
Central Committee of the
Romanian Workers' Party from 1945 to 1975, and a member of the
Politburo. He was
Prime Minister of Romania between 1955 and 1961 and President of the
State Council of Romania (de facto head of state) from 1965 until 1967. Stoica was awarded the
Order of the Crown of Romania in the rank of Grand Officer (1947), the
Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic, 1st class (1948, 1958), the , 1st class (1959), the title of
Hero of Socialist Labour and the Hammer and Sickle Gold Medal (1958), the , 1st class (1959), the , 1st class (1966), and the title of
Hero of the Socialist Republic of Romania (1973). ==Death==