Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first freely elected president after the fall of communism in 1989, who later faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody revolution, has died.

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.

As a three-term president, he guided the country toward democracy, but he was called an authoritarian at heart and accused of brutality during the revolt that put him in power.