Romania's former king Michael, forced to abdicate by communists after World War II, returned to his homeland on Friday to celebrate reconcilation with the post-communist leadership of President Ion Iliescu.

Michael and his wife Anne of Bourbon-Parma were scheduled Saturday to attend a private reconciliation dinner with Iliescu, who had previously fiercely opposed the monarch's return.

The occasion was to be the first meeting between the 79 year-old former sovereign and Iliescu,who several times in the 1990s prevented the king revisiting his homeland.

Things changed last year when Michael publicly supported Iliescu during the presidential election.

Iliescu invited Michael some months later, expressing regrets at his previous opposition.

Sources close to ex-king Michael, who now lives in Switzerland, say he may soon announce a decision to reside permanently in Bucharest.

The ex-monarch had his Romanian citizenship, which the communists had stripped him of, restored in 1997.

Two state officials and a group of some 30 supporters greeted the couple at the airport, and 200 guests welcomed the king at the Elisebata Palace in Bucharest, the former royal residence where he was forced to abdicate in 1947.

The palace was "a place that brings back sad memories," the king said, standing in the office in which he had to sign his abdication under duress on December 30, 1947.

"Those who forced me to go are no longer among us," he said. "Paradoxically I'm the only one still alive."

One other figure still alive however was retired General Ilie Moreanu, a witness of the August 1944 arrest of Romania's pro-Nazi dictator Ion Antonescu, an event engineered by King Michael.

The king overthrew Antonescu and signed an armistice with the Allies in August 1944.

However, increasing difficulties with the communist-led coalition after the war led to his abdication and exile in December 1947.

Iliescu made another friendly gesture this month on the 56th anniversary of the end of World War II by paying tribute to the king's wartime role.

The government led by Prime Minister Adrian Nastase has likewise been generous with gestures of goodwill.

The cabinet has said it will no longer challenge to Michael's right to reclaim two properties in Romania.

Parliament is shortly expected to pass legislation allowing him to benefit from rights accorded to former heads of state.

These developments were "part of the process of reconciliation with the past and with those who played a role in the history of the country," Nastase said shortly before the king's arrival.

During his stay Michael will hold talks with the Association of Foreign Investors, attend the opening of a book fair and visit the Museum of National Art, as well as a Bucharest school and hospital.

He will also visit Savarsin in the west of Romania, the location of one of the properties now returned to him.

The government has also invited Michael to establish his official residence at the Elisabeta Palace. The king is staying at the palace during the present visit.

The couple are accompanied by their eldest daughter Margareta during their three-week stay.

Copyright © 2000 AFP

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