( CNN ) -- A medical team exhumed the body of former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu on Wednesday to try to ensure that the remains are really his , Romanian state media reported . Ceausescu was executed on Christmas Day 1989 in the only post-Berlin-Wall-fall of a Communist regime in Eastern Europe that got really bloody . His remains were `` quite well preserved , '' his son-in-law Mircea Oprean told Romania 's Pro TV . The body of Ceausescu 's wife also was unearthed , but was not in such good condition , Oprean said . `` The place where they put my mother-in-law was much more humid , so the samples were much more damaged , '' he said . Elena Ceausescu was executed by firing squad along with her husband in the last anti-Communist revolution of 1989 in Eastern Europe . Their children want to be sure that the bodies in the graves are those of the Ceausescus . The remains will undergo DNA testing by the Institute of Legal Medicine , Romania 's national news agency Agerpress reported . Nicolae Ceausescu ruled Romania from 1965 until his death . He became infamous for his lavish lifestyle , and started to build a palace for himself in the 1980s with miles of marbles floors and thousands of crystal chandeliers . He was toppled by revolution , tried hastily and executed before the building was completed . Now the seat of Romania 's parliament , it is the largest civilian office building in the world -- second in size only to the Pentagon . CNN 's Diana Magnay contributed to this report .
Nicolae Ceausescu was executed by firing squad after a bloody trial in 1989 . His family want to be sure the body in his grave is really his . His remains and his wife 's will require DNA tests . Ceausescu was Romania 's Communist leader for decades .