Initially hailed as the man who would lead Romania into a new democratic era, Iliescu's legacy soon became more complicated. His leadership steered the nation through its fragile early years of democracy and towards eventual integration with Nato and the European Union, achievements that many credit to his steady hand.

Romania's former president Ion Iliescu died on Tuesday in Bucharest at the age of 95. Sorin Grindeanu, interim leader of Iliescu's Social Democratic Party (PSD) lauded "the first president of democratic Romania" and said Iliescu made a decisive contribution to the country's accession to the European Union and NATO.

Iliescu has a complex legacy. He will be remembered as the country’s first democratic leader, and for his brutal crackdown against dissent in 1990.