Toma Petre Ghițulescu

Toma Petre Ghițulescu (29 June 1902 – 26 October 1983) was a Romanian engineer, politician, and Olympic bobsledder. He is known for being an officially-rehabilitated member of the Axis-aligned World War II-era Government of Marshal Ion Antonescu.

Born in Giurgiu, he graduated în 1925 from the Department of Mining of the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute. He was then hired as an engineer in the prospecting section of the , where he carried out pioneering work in geophysical prospecting. Together with Ion Gavăț, he was the author of the first Romanian gravimetric prospecting work, executed in 1928 on a salt massif near Călinești. In 1927, Mircea Socolescu and Sabba S. Ștefănescu joined their team; together, they performed gravimetric measurements, magnetometric research, and electrometric investigations through vertical electrical surveys.

Ghițulescu competed in the four-man event at the 1928 Winter Olympics, together with Grigore Socolescu, Ion Gavăț, Traian Nițescu, and Mircea Socolescu. ), to facilitate his escape from Romania by crossing the border illegally. Ghițulescu was caught by the Securitate on 17 July 1950. Convicted by the Bucharest Military Tribunal, he was sentenced to forced labor for life on 20 October 1950, and was detained at Jilava Prison and at Aiud Prison. In 1956 he was sent under forced residence to Brad, where he worked at the gold mines in the area, as a specialist in the field.

In 2012, Ghițulescu was made an honorary citizen of the city of Brad.