So, who was he? Well, a start:
“A Preliminary Analysis of the RCP Central Committee Elected at the 11th Party Congress”, 12 December 1972
Former full members of the Central Committee who were dropped by the 11th party congress, 28 November 1972:
“Ion POTOCEANU, former director-general of the Resita Steel Combine [Combinatul Siderurgic Reşiţa], and later of the Galati Metallurgical Combine [Combinatul Siderurgic Galaţi]; member of the Council on Problems of Social and Economic Organization.”
The 10th Congress was in August 1969 – would he have been appointed then?
A Preliminary Analysis of the Rcp Central Committee Elected at the 11th Party Congress
See also:
Combinatul Siderurgic Reşiţa:
From 1968, could this be him in the attached photo with “the boss”?
Reşiţa works - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Combinatul Siderurgic Galaţi:
“Gheorghiu-Dej died in March 1965, and his successor, Nicolae Ceauşescu, cut the ribbon to the entrance of the works in September 1966. Integrated production began in July 1968, when all the components needed for steel-making had been set up and the first batch of steel came out at steel mill #1. Activity grew at a consistent pace, and by 1972, there were 40,000 employees – over 50,000 in the entire works, including nearby industrial units. A 2011 study found that two-thirds of Galaţi residents either worked or used to work at the plant or related factories, or had an immediate family member do so. According to official records, output reached a maximum in 1988, with 8.2 million tons worth some $7.2 million. By the early 1990s, the works had caused serious air, water and soil pollution in Galaţi. As of 2010, there were a number of waste disposal lakes behind the works, some containing cyanides, less than 2 km away from the Danube.”
Galaţi steel works - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So he probably got his Titlul de “Erou al Muncii Socialiste” as a retirement gift (in addition to the reason cited on the document)?
As always, research is ongoing and eternal . . .