The 119-seat Rombac 1-11 was one of nine such passenger jets built in Romania, under a British licence, before 1989. It was used by Ceausescu for official trips between 1986 and 1989, the last three years of his decades-long rule. Artmark/AP It was used by communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu for official trips between 1986 and 1989. Romania was the first communist state, after the Soviet Union and before China, to produce a passenger jet. Ceausescu came to power in 1965 and he ruled the country with an iron fist until a 1989 uprising against Romania’s communist regime.

Source: Stuff May 18, 2021 23:48 UTC