Dumitru Burlan

Dumitru Burlan(born May 11, 1939, Licurici, Gorj County) is a Romanian former Securitate officer.

During the communist period, he worked for the Securitate. He was the chief of bodyguards of President Nicolae Ceauşescu, and served once as his stand-in (double), but was not able to protect Ceauşescu from arrest and execution duringthe Romanian Revolution of 1989. Ten years after the revolution, he published his understanding of the revolutionary events and his beliefs about Ceauşescu.

After publishing details about the coup, he received several death threats. He declared himself proud of having served Ceauşescu, and he considers Ceauşescu to have been one of the most intelligent and greatest leaders in history.

Dumitru Burlan was born on May 11, 1939, in Licurici (Gorj County), in a family of poor peasants with seven children. In 1950, after graduating from primary school in his native village, his father brought him to Bucharest. In the capital, he was enrolled into the military school.

In August 1960, at the age of 21, he was ranked as junior lieutenant in the State Security Department. In the 1960s, his hierarchical bosses were Soviet advisers or close-knits, such as Gheorghe Pintilie, alias Pantiusha Bondarenko.

In 1965, when Nicolae Ceaușescu was elected head of the Romanian Communist Party; Dumitru Burlan worked in the 7th Directorate (Surveillance and Investigations) with the rank of lieutenant-major. In 1989, he had the lieutenant colonel rank, Specialist Officer I at the 5th SSD Directorate. He worked for 30 years in the Securitate, including 22 years in the 5th Directorate.

Dumitru Burlan wrote his memories in a book entitled "After 14 years - Ceaușescu's doppelganger is brought to light” (Ergorom Publishing House, 2003).