He was born in Breaza de Sus, Prahova County, the son of Nicolae and Stanca Dăscălescu.

From 1937 to 1941 he trained as a metal lathe operator at a vocational school in his hometown, after which he started working at the Astra Română company in Câmpina.

[1] In October 1945 he joined the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), and stayed on his job until November 1947.

[1] At the same time, he advanced in the PCR hierarchy, and served as First Secretary of the Communist Party in Galați from 1965 to 1974.

[2] He resigned from his position as Prime Minister under pressure from the revolutionaries gathered at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the PCR, right after Ceaușescu escaped from the building.