[2] He was elevated to the rank of divisional general in June 1940, and from July 4 to September 4, he was Defense Minister in the cabinet of Ion Gigurtu.

After the end of the war, he continued to brief the king regarding discussions within the higher army council, which debated laws and other measure touching on the military.

In May 1946, the same year he was sent into the reserves, he joined the leadership of Mișcărea Națională de Rezistență, an early group within the anti-communist resistance movement.

After being released in April 1955, he was not granted a pension and had to support himself by working on commission at an agency of Loteria Română [ro].

[1] Nicolescu lived in a stately house in Bucharest; built in 1890, the 16-room mansion was located on Știrbei Vodă Street, near the Cișmigiu Gardens.