Former President Klaus Iohannis expressed condolences on the death of Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first freely elected leader after the fall of communism, stating that his terms at the helm of the state „had a significant impact on Romania”.

„Ion Iliescu, the first elected president of post-December Romania, passed away today. His terms in the office of head of the state had a significant impact on Romania. I convey my condolences to his wife and those close to him! May God forgive him and rest him in peace!,” reads Klaus Iohannis’s message.

Former President Emil Constantinescu too paid tribute to Ion Iliescu, saying that „he has stepped beyond the boundaries of his contemporaries’ judgment into the judgment of History.”

„Upon leaving this world, former Romanian President Ion Iliescu has stepped beyond the boundaries of his contemporaries’ judgment into the judgment of History. Condolences to his family and loved ones!,” Constantinescu said in his message.

Ex-President Ion Iliescu died on Tuesday at the age of 95. He had been hospitalized since early June at the „Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu” Emergency Clinical Hospital, having been diagnosed with lung cancer.

AGERPRES