Andrei Năstase (born 6 August 1975) is a Moldovan politician serving as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and
Minister of Internal Affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
from 8 June 2019 to 12 November 2019.
He was member of
Parliament of Moldova
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameralism, unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a peri ...
in 2019.
Năstase has been leader of
Dignity and Truth Platform Party
The Dignity and Truth Platform Party ( ro, Partidul Politic „Platforma Demnitate și Adevăr”, PPDA), stylized as Platforma DA or YES Platform, is a centre-right, liberal political party in Moldova promoting pro-Europeanism and anti-corrupt ...
(Platforma DA) from 2015 to 2021.
Năstase was selected as joint candidate of
pro-European
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Polit ...
Platforma DA and
PAS parties and won the runoff of the 2018 Chișinău mayoral snap election with 52.57% of the votes, outrunning pro-Russian
PSRM
The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Partidul Socialiștilor din Republica Moldova; russian: Партия социалистов Республики Молдова, Partya sotsialistov Respubliki Moldova, PSRM) is a democra ...
candidate, Ion Ceban. However, the elections were later invalidated, which caused widespread criticism from the EU and US.
In the
2019 parliamentary election, Năstase's
Platforma DA together with its ally,
PAS led by
Maia Sandu
Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 un ...
formed the
ACUM Electoral Bloc and secured 26 of the 101 seats in the
Parliament of Moldova
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameralism, unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a peri ...
.
On June 8, during the
2019 constitutional crisis, Andrei Năstase was appointed
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and
Minister of Internal Affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
in the
Sandu cabinet
The Sandu Cabinet was a Cabinet of Moldova, led by Maia Sandu.
History
It was inaugurated on 8 June 2019, in the middle of the 2019 Moldovan constitutional crisis when the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared unconstitutional her designation ...
.
On November 12, 2019, Sandu's government has been resigned because of the motion of no confidence. Năstase criticised Sandu's decision to assume responsibility for overruling its own contest rules for the appointment of the General Prosecutor. The Constitutional Court later decided that Sandu's decision was illegal.
Biography
Born on August 6, 1975, in the village of
Mîndrești, nowadays in
Telenești district
Telenești () is a district ( ro, raion) in central Moldova, with the administrative center at Telenești.
History
The oldest recorded settlements of the district are: Banești, Peciste and Telenești, mentioned in 1437. At the time, the landow ...
, he is the son of Andrei and Anna Năstase. Between 1982 and 1992 Năstase has studied at the Mîndrești school, from 1992 until 1993 he has studied at the Faculty of History-Geography of the
Ștefan cel Mare University of
Suceava
Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, and between 1993 and 1997 he studied at the Faculty of Law of the
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...
of
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Professional activity
From 1997 to 2000, Năstase worked as a prosecutor, employed at the Office of the
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...
Prosecutor of Transport, initially as interim aid, then as assistant to the transport prosecutor. Not much information about his work in this position is available. In a reply sent to RISE Moldova following an enquiry, the General Prosecutor's Office stated that "in the archives, some documents set up by the assistant of the transport prosecutor, Andrei Năstase, regarding inspections of several aspects of the activity of civil aviation enterprises, including the state enterprise Air Moldova, have been identified". According to the reply of the General Prosecutor's Office, "although, following the controls, a number of derogations were established in the activity of
Air Moldova
Air Moldova is the national airline of Moldova headquartered in Chișinău. It mainly operates scheduled and charter services to destinations within Europe from its base at Chișinău International Airport.
History The roots of Moldavian civil ...
(subordinated to the State Civil Aviation Administration, headed in that period by Victor Țopa), no prosecutor's reaction has been taken on detected violations".
Test
From 2000 to 2002, Năstase worked as a deputy director of the Moldovan-German Joint Undertaking Air Moldova S.R.L. During this time,
Air Moldova
Air Moldova is the national airline of Moldova headquartered in Chișinău. It mainly operates scheduled and charter services to destinations within Europe from its base at Chișinău International Airport.
History The roots of Moldavian civil ...
has been transformed from a
state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
into a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
,
a procedure which has drawn accusations of unlawfulnesses from political analyst Victor Gurău. According to him, the company's shares were taken over by a so-called foreign investor, which had no accounts and did not meet the minimum requirements to form an undertaking. He claimed that Năstase, together with former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Vlad Filat
Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was the Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He a ...
, businessmen Victor Țopa and Viorel Țopa and former Finance Minister
Anatol Arapu were involved in the privatization of Air Moldova.
Political activity
In early 2015, Năstase, along with several opinion leaders, journalists, lawyers, political scientists, ambassadors, and others, participated at the foundation of the Civic Platform Dignity and Truth. He is also one of the leaders of
the protest movement in Moldova in September 2015. On 1 November 2015, he was elected President of the Executive Bureau of the Initiative Group set up to organize the Republican referendum amending the Constitution with regard to the election and direct dismissal of the president by the people, the limitation of parliamentary immunity and the number of deputies from 101 to 71. Năstase has also drafted laws that were subsequently examined and positively endorsed by the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
. In December 2015, a part of the Dignity and Truth Platform members, including Năstase, joined the ''People's Force Party''. At the extraordinary congress on 13 December 2015, the party was renamed to ''
Dignity and Truth Platform Party
The Dignity and Truth Platform Party ( ro, Partidul Politic „Platforma Demnitate și Adevăr”, PPDA), stylized as Platforma DA or YES Platform, is a centre-right, liberal political party in Moldova promoting pro-Europeanism and anti-corrupt ...
'' (''Partidul Politic "Platforma Demnitate și Adevăr''", Platforma DA), elected new governing bodies, and Năstase was elected as party chairman.
2016 presidential election
Andrei Năstase was appointed by the Political National Council of the
Dignity and Truth Platform Party
The Dignity and Truth Platform Party ( ro, Partidul Politic „Platforma Demnitate și Adevăr”, PPDA), stylized as Platforma DA or YES Platform, is a centre-right, liberal political party in Moldova promoting pro-Europeanism and anti-corrupt ...
to run in the
2016 presidential elections
This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*7 January: Kir ...
. He was registered on 18 September 2016 as a candidate, the fourth officially registered with the
Central Electoral Commission
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
(CEC) for the elections of 30 October 2016.
On October 15, 2016, Andrei Năstase officially announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed
Action and Solidarity Party candidate
Maia Sandu
Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 un ...
.
2018 Chișinău mayoral election
At the 2018 Chișinău mayoral election, after finishing second in the first round with 32.1%, Năstase gained 52.57% of the total number of votes in the runoff, beating Ion Ceban (47.43%).
However, on 19 June 2018, the elections were declared void on the grounds of violation of
election silence
Election silence, blackout period, pre-election silence, electoral silence, or campaign silence is a ban on political campaigning or media coverage of a general election, before or during that election.
Operation
In some jurisdictions, such as Sl ...
on election day by both candidates, contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Code.
As such, the mandate of the elected mayor, Andrei Năstase, was not validated by the magistrates of the Center Sector Court in Chișinău,
a decision maintained on 21 June 2018 by the Chișinău Court of Appeal,
as well as by the
Supreme Court of Justice
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
(SCJ), which, on 25 June 2018, gave the final verdict on the validation of the results of the Chișinău elections.
On June 29, 2018, the
Central Electoral Commission
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
(CEC) also declared void the local elections held in the capital city. Năstase regarded the decision as politically motivated and considered it to be ordered by
Vladimir Plahotniuc
Vladimir Plahotniuc (born 1 January 1966) is a Moldovan politician, businessman and oligarch. He was the chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (24 December 2016 – 24 June 2019) and previously was member of the Parliament of Moldova in thr ...
.
Following this decision, the mayor of Chișinău will be elected in the 2019 Moldovan local elections and the mayoralty will be headed by an interim mayor.
On October 8, 2019, the Chișinău Court of Appeal has validated the Andrei Nastase's mandate by overturning the ruling issued by the Chișinău Court that annulled the local elections held in 2018.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 2019
At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), carried out on June 24–28, 2019, the Republic of Moldova has been represented by Andrei Năstase (head of the Moldovan delegation) – Platforma DA,
Vlad Batrîncea
Vlad Batrîncea (born 31 March 1981) is a Moldovan politician who currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (since November 2019). He has been the executive secretary of the Party of Socialists of the Republic ...
– PSRM and Mihai Popșoi – PAS.
From the Republic of Moldova side, votes in favour of Russia's delegation reinstatement to this institution (the sanction imposed before to Russian because of Crimea annexation to Russian Federation and implication into the rebel conflict in the eastern Ukrainina region
), came from Andrei Năstase and Vlad Batrîncea.
Andrei Nastase was deeply criticized for that decision. His colleague, Alexandr Slusari, the deputy chairman of the DA Platform, has stated that "Most probably it was a hard decision. I personally won’t have voted".
Ex mayor Dorin Chirtoacă has criticized the vote granted by Andrei Năstase, asking his resignation: "When last year, Nastase has stated that: "Unification is a stupidity", putting us in a bad light in face of Romania, today it puts us in a state of tension with Ukraine and, asked by nobody, plays along for the Russian Federation. The resignation, Mr. Năstase! You are now in too many position. The resignation from the PACE, the Parliament, the Government, the MAI, from ACUM, from the Platforma DA and with a self-report in hand, please go to the investigation bodies, after they are reformed, to clear out the privatization of "Air Moldova "happened in 2000 and raider attack of" Victoriabank "in 2005."
The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs and European Integration, Alexandru Roitman, has said that the vote within PACE of the Moldovan's officials does not represent the country or the Government position "moreover, the Executive does not have the prerogative to recommend to the MPs how to vote".
2019 Chișinău mayoral election
On September 21, 2019, Andrei Năstase has launched the election campaign for the general local elections of 20 October 2019, by
ACUM Bloc, formed by PAS and Platforma DA parties.
Valeriu Munteanu, his electoral rival and the leader of the
Save Bessarabia Union
Save Bessarabia Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați Basarabia, USB), previously known as European Action Movement is a political party from Moldova. The party supportes the unification of Romania and Moldova. On 21 July 2019, the party changed its name f ...
( ro, Uniunea Salvați Basarabia, USB) has instituted a proceedings against him, because he would infringe the electoral legislation by printing the pictures of
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
and the City Hall on his promotional leaflets.
By the Ruling of October the 5th, 2019 issued by the Chișinău Court of Râșcani District of Chișinău, Andrei Năstase, the candidate for the position of the general mayor of the Chișinău municipality, delegated by ACUM Electoral Bloc "Dignity and Truth Platform and PAS", was obligated to exclude the picture, information/leaflet that contain the public authority – the City Hall of the Chișinău and historical personalities "Stephen III of Moldavia" and as well, it was prohibited to use the electoral material/leaflet in electioneering and to unmake the remained stock.
In the first round of the elections on General Mayor position of Chișinău of October 20, 2019, Andrei Năstase has gained 31,08% of votes, and his rival Ion Ceban - 40,19%.
In the second round of the elections for the position of the General Mayor of Chișinău of November the 3rd, 2019 Andrei Nastase accumulated 47,61% of votes. Although, he was confident of his victory, Andrei Nastase has lost to Ion Ceban who gained 52,39% of votes.
Personal life
Năstase is married to Angela Năstase and has three children.
His brother, Vasile Năstase, is a journalist, former MP of the first parliament of Moldova, and one of the people who has signed the
Declaration of Independence of Moldova
__NOTOC__
The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Declarația de independență a Republicii Moldova) was a document adopted on 27 August 1991 by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova following the failure of the Augu ...
. Năstase is the godson of the businessman Victor Țopa.
Controversies
As a lawyer, he is known for defending various domestic and foreign investors in national and international courts, such as the German company Unistar, but also those of businessmen Viorel and Victor Topa. This was used in a long-standing smear campaign against Năstase, portraying the two businessmen as fugitive cousins, despite the two being unrelated. The smear campaign was conducted via the media holdings owned by oligarch
Vlad Plahotniuc
Vladimir Plahotniuc (born 1 January 1966) is a Moldovan politician, businessman and oligarch. He was the chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (24 December 2016 – 24 June 2019) and previously was member of the Parliament of Moldova in thr ...
. A Rise imvestigation sheds light on the real reason why Plahotniuc wanted Năstase labelled as "The Man of ''Țopas''". Viorel Topa and Victor Topa were illegally stripped of their assets at Victoriabank by Plahotniuc, then blackmailed and forced to seek refuge in Germany. German authorities refuse to extradite them arguing that the Topa's cases are classed as political persecution.
Media owned by Plahotniuc wrote that the Open Dialogue Foundation, led by activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska and allegedly funded by Kazakh businessman and politician
Muhtar Abliazov,
has paid for flight tickets to Brussels for Năstase and
Maia Sandu
Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 un ...
. They claim the two have benefited from funding from the foundation without properly declaring it.
Kozlovska was politically persecuted by Plahotniuc's PD, later dropped after Plahotniuc fled Moldova upon losing the parliamentary majority in the 2019 elections.
According to statements made by the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
leader,
Dorin Chirtoacă
Dorin Chirtoacă (born 9 August 1978) is a Moldovan politician who served as Mayor of Chișinău from 2007 to 2018. He has been leader of Liberal Party (PL) since 2018.
Biography
His mother is Valentina, sister of Gheorghe Ghimpu and Mihai Gh ...
, Năstase would have harmed Moldova with a loss worth €7 million.
He refers to the involvement of Andrei Nastase in the
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of
state company
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
Air Moldova
Air Moldova is the national airline of Moldova headquartered in Chișinău. It mainly operates scheduled and charter services to destinations within Europe from its base at Chișinău International Airport.
History The roots of Moldavian civil ...
, through which the German company Unistar Ventures, allegedly managed by Victor Țopa, acquired 49% of the airline's shares.
This is, in fact, Andrei Năstase winning the case at the European Court of Human Rights, who forced Moldova to pay back material damages caused to the plaintiffs.
At Andrei Năstase request, appointed as Minister of the
Ministry of the Internal Affairs, Gheorge Balan, a former judge known for his criticism against corruption in the judiciary during Plahotniuc's rule, has been appointed as interim Head of the
General Police Inspectorate
The General Police Inspectorate ( ro, Inspectoratul General al Poliției, IGP) is the national civilian police force of the Republic of Moldova. It is a state institution subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Moldova), Ministry of Inte ...
at the first meeting of the
new Government, when Alexandru Pînzari was dismissed. Later, Andrei Năstase has introduced the new interim head of the GPI, who has invited his subordinates to the
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
[https://protv.md/politic/andrei-nastase-l-a-prezentat-pe-noul-sef-al-igp-numit-de-guvernul-sandu-gheorghe-balan-i-a-chemat-pe-toti-subalternii-sai-la-parlament-fac-un-apel-catre-toti-politistii-de-buna-credinta-sa-vina-si-sa-luam-decizii-importante-pentru-tara-veniti-sa-ne-luam----2495152.html Andrei Nastase l-a prezentat pe noul sef al IGP, retrieved June 18, 2019] Soon after, Năstase confirmed that him and Gheorghe Balan are in kinship affinity relations (one of several godparents) but that he is qualified to continue as interim Head until the recruitment process finalises. Soon after, the Sandu Cabinet was voted out which had a ripple effect across all institution appointments.
Gheorghe Balan has recognized that he and Andrei Năstase a in affinity relations (are the godparents).
The newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs has stated to the media "''that the affinity that is having Mr. Balan did not have anything in common with his appointment for the position of the acting head of the GPI… shortly after a competition will be arranged.''"
On February 21, 2019, Andrei Năstase and the candidates of the ACUM electoral bloc, both of the national and uninominal constituency, have signed the public commitment according to which after Parliamentary elections of February 24, 2019 they would not make any coalition with the Party of Socialists, Democratic Party and Shor Party, and if this commitment will be violated they resign from as MPs mandate. After PAS made the unilateral decision to coalise with PSRM to oust Plahotniuc, Platforma DA agreed to accept PSRM votes for the Sandu Cabiet, but insisted on a series of public commitments and anti-oligarchic laws package.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nastase, Andrei
1975 births
Living people
People from Telenești District
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni
Moldovan lawyers
Mayors of Chișinău
Members of the parliament of Moldova
Moldovan Ministers of the Interior
Deputy Prime Ministers of Moldova