Maria Antonescu

Maria Antonescu
Antonescu in c. 1941
Wife of the Conducător of Romania
In office 6 September 1940 – 23 August 1944
President of the Social Works Patronage Council
In office 20 November 1940[a] – 23 August 1944
Monarch	Michael I
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	None
Personal details
Born	Maria Niculescu 3 November 1892 Calafat, Kingdom of Romania
Died	18 October 1964(1964-10-18) (aged 71) Bucharest, Romanian People's Republic
Spouses	Gheorghe Cimbru (d. c. 1919) Guillaume Auguste Joseph Pierre Fueller ​ ​ (m. 1919; div. 1926)​ Ion Antonescu (m. 1927/8; d. 1946)
Children	1
Nickname	Rica Antonescu
Conviction(s)	Embezzlement (1950)
Criminal penalty	Imprisonment (1950–1955) Deported (from 1955)
a. ^ formally 10 April 1941[1]

Maria Antonescu (born Maria Niculescu, also known as Maria General Antonescu, later Maria Mareșal Antonescu, or Rica Antonescu; 3 November 1892 – 18 October 1964) was a Romanian socialite and philanthropist and the wife of World War II authoritarian prime minister and Conducător Ion Antonescu. A long-time resident of France, she was twice married before her wedding to Antonescu, and became especially known for her leadership of charitable organization grouped in the Social Works Patronage Council organization, having Veturia Goga for her main collaborator. The Council profited significantly from antisemitic policies targeting Romanian Jews, and especially from the deportation of Bessarabian Jews into Transnistria, taking over several hundred million lei resulting from arbitrary confiscations and extortion.

Arrested soon after the August 1944 coup which overthrew her husband, Maria Antonescu was briefly a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union, and, after a period of uncertainty, tried and sentenced by the new communist regime on charges of economic crimes (embezzlement). Imprisoned for five years and afterward included in the Bărăgan deportations, she spent the final years of her life under internal exile at Bordușani.