Bughici was born in
Iași to a Jewish family of
klezmer musicians; his father and two brothers perished during the June 1941
Iași pogrom. He joined the banned
Communist Party of Romania in 1933. He worked as a weaver at the Adriana factory in Iași, and was active in communist organizations in the
Bistrița,
Trotuș, and
Prahova Valley regions. In 1935 he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years of prison by the
Brașov tribunal; held at
Doftana Prison, he was released in 1940. Soon after he was re-arrested and sent to the Caracal and
Târgu Jiu internment camps. During
World War II, Bughici was imprisoned at
Vapniarka concentration camp in
Transnistria. In March 1944 he escaped during the transfer from the
Grosulovo camp to Târgu Jiu. The appointment of Bughici disassociated Pauker's downfall from the anti-Semitism widely seen in Eastern Europe at the time. Bughici served as minister until October 1955. During his political career, he also served as the Vice
Prime Minister of Romania. Other offices that he held were that of head of Centrocoop, Minister of the Food Industry and vice president of the Communist Party Control Commission (Colegiul Central de Partid) (1969–1974). He served as a deputy in the
Great National Assembly for several constituencies from 1948 to 1975. In 1971, Bughici was awarded the
Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic, First class. He was married to Ana Friedman, a history teacher and school principal. ==See also==