Liberal Party ( ro, Partidul Liberal, PL) is a conservative-liberal political party in Moldova. The president of the party is the former

Mayor of Chișinău The Mayor of Chișinău, officially the General Mayor of the Municipality of Chișinău ( ro, Primar general al municipiul Chișinău), is the head of the executive branch of Chișinău's government and a member of the city's Municipal Counci ...

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 Miha ...

History

The party was established under the name Party of Reform ( ro, Partidul Reformei) in 1993 by

Anatol Șalaru Anatol Șalaru (born 7 February 1962) is a Moldovan politician who served as Minister of Transport and Roads Infrastructure from 2009 to 2013 and Minister of Defense from 2015 to 2016. He was member of Parliament of Moldova from 1990 to 1994 a ...

. In 1997,

Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951) is a Moldovan politician who served as Speaker of Parliament and Acting President of Moldova from 2009 to 2010. He was member of Parliament of Moldova from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to 2019. Ghimpu held the ...

was elected chairman. Until April 2005, the party had a

Christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

electoral platform. Competing in the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, and 2001 parliamentary elections, the Party of Reform failed to enter parliament, as its results of 2.36%, 0.54% and 0.67%, respectively, failed to meet the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

of 5%.

Electoral success

At the second party congress, held on 24 April 2005, party members adopted the new name Liberal Party ( ro, Partidul Liberal), along with a new logo and programme, which presented a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

political platform.

was elected president of the party. The party competed in the April 2009 parliamentary election, obtaining 13.13% of the vote and of 15 seats in parliament. At the parliamentary election of 2009 in July, the popular vote rose to 14.68%, again winning 15 seats. As a consequence of the second parliamentary election of 2009, the party signed a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

(PDM), and

Our Moldova Alliance The Our Moldova Alliance ( ro, Partidul Alianță Moldova Noastră, en, Party Alliance Our Moldova, AMN) was a social-liberal political party in Moldova led by Serafim Urechean, former mayor of Chișinău. It merged into the Liberal Democratic P ...

(AMN), constituting the Alliance for European Integration. The party was included in the

First Filat Cabinet The First Filat Cabinet was the Cabinet of Moldova between September 25, 2009 and January 14, 2011. It was a caretaker cabinet from the election of November 28, 2010, until it was succeeded by the Second Filat Cabinet on January 14, 2011. H ...

. At the 2010 parliamentary election, the party obtained 9.96% of the vote and 12 seats in parliament. The party remained in the Second Filat Cabinet. The

European Action Movement 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 ...

(MAE) merged into the party in March 2011. Under the leadership of Ghimpu, the party has altered its former Christian democratic orientation. On 25 January 2009, a Conference for the constitution of a Women's wing for the Liberal Party the "Liberal Women's Organisation" was held. The party also formed a youth wing the "Young Liberals". The party has joined the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...

(ALDE) as an observer member. At the 2014 parliamentary election, the Liberal Party received 9.7% of the vote, winning 13 seats. At the 2019 parliamentary election, the PL received 1.25% of the vote, losing its representation in parliament.

Internal split

In February 2013, the party suffered an internal split. On 12 April 2013, the Liberal Party Reform Council was launched, with

Ion Hadârcă Ion Hadârcă (born 17 August 1949 in Sîngerei, USSR) is a poet, translator and Moldovan politician, deputy to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova between 1990 and 1998 and from 2009 to 2014. Ion Hadârcă was the founder and first presid ...

as leader. The members of this council were called "Liberal Reformers" by the media. The internal split became permanent when a separate Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) joined the

Pro-European Coalition The Pro-European Coalition ( ro, Coaliția Pro-Europeană) was the ruling coalition in Moldova from 30 May 2013 until 18 February 2015. Its leaders were Vlad Filat, Marian Lupu, and Ion Hadârcă. The previous Alliance for European Integrati ...

, formed after the dissolution of the Alliance for European Integration (AIE), remaining in the Leancă Cabinet after the Liberal Party (PL) left the government.

Creation of Mișcarea Politică Unirea (MPU)

In 2020, Mișcarea Politică Unirea (MPU), a political party established for the

unification of Romania and Moldova The unification of Moldova and Romania is a popular concept in the two countries that began in the late 1980s, during the Revolutions of 1989. The Romanian Revolution in 1989 and the independence of Moldova in 1991 further contributed to the ...

, was founded by five other political parties, including the Liberal Party. Furthermore, Chirtoacă, leader of the PL, was designated as the candidate of the MPU for the

2020 Moldovan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Moldova on 1 November. The fourth direct elections since independence in 1991, voters had the possibility to either elect a new president or re-elect the incumbent Igor Dodon. Because no candidate received a ma ...

. He only received 1.2% of the cast votes and did not qualify for the 2nd round.

2021 parliamentary elections

For the

2021 Moldovan parliamentary election Snap parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 11 July 2021. Following the resignation of Ion Chicu, the position of Prime Minister became vacant, with the Parliament being obligated to form a new government within three months. After the ...

, PL decided to compete along with PPR,

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

, and AUR and managed to get 7,216 votes (0.49%), but failed to meet the 5% threshold.

Electoral results

Parliament

In the 2007 local elections, the party gained 18.31% in Chișinău municipality and 11 seats on the Chișinău Municipal Council. Its vice-president, Dorin Chirtoacă, became Mayor.

Notable members

* Corina Fusu *

Gheorghe Brega Gheorghe Brega (born 25 September 1951 in Drepcăuți, Briceni District, Soviet Moldova) is a Moldovan politician who was the acting Prime Minister of Moldova from 30 October 2015 to 20 January 2016. He served as Deputy Prime Minister for Soci ...

* Boris Vieru * Ion Apostol * Ion Cebanu

Gallery

Image:Partidul Liberal 2009.svg, Votes won by PL in the April 2009 election by raion and municipality File:In vizita la viceprim-ministru Ion Negrei.jpg, Young Liberals and Ion Negrei in November 2009

References

External links

Official website
{{Unification of Moldova and Romania Conservative parties in Moldova Liberal parties in Moldova Alliance for European Integration Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party Conservative liberal parties Romanian nationalism in Moldova