Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
n 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
The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parlia ...
from 8 June 2019 until 14 November 2019.
On 12 November 2019, Sandu's government collapsed after a vote of no-confidence, with 63 (deputies from PSRM and PDM) of the 101 MPs having voted on the motion submitted by the PSRM.
Sandu was
Minister of Education from 2012 to 2015 and member of the
Parliament of Moldova from 2014 to 2015, and again in 2019.
She was selected as the joint candidate of the
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 ...
PPDA and
PAS parties for president of Moldova in the
2016 election. However, she was defeated in the subsequent runoff by the pro-Russian
PSRM candidate,
Igor Dodon
Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the president of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. ...
, losing the popular vote by a margin of 48% to 52%. In a rematch between Dodon and Sandu in the
2020 election, she won the subsequent runoff, 58% to 42%, defeating Dodon. She is the first female president of Moldova.
Early life and professional career
Sandu was born on 24 May 1972 in the commune of
Risipeni, located in the
Fălești District in the
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic of what was then the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Her parents were Grigorie and Emilia Sandu, a veterinarian and a teacher, respectively. From 1989 to 1994, she majored in management at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (ASEM). From 1995 to 1998, she majored in international relations at the (AAP) in
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...
. In 2010, she graduated from the
John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. From 2010 to 2012, Sandu worked as Adviser to the executive director at the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
in
Washington, D.C. Sandu speaks
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
and
Russian in addition to her native
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
.
Political career
From 2012 to 2015, she served as
Minister of Education of Moldova. She was considered on 23 July 2015 by the Liberal Democratic Party as a nominee to be the next
Prime Minister of Moldova
The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parlia ...
, succeeding
Natalia Gherman and
Chiril Gaburici.
A day after being proposed by a renewed pro-European coalition, Sandu set the departure of the Head of the
National Bank of Moldova,
Dorin Drăguțanu and the
State Prosecutor Corneliu Gurin as conditions for her acceptance of the office.
Ultimately,
Valeriu Streleț
Valeriu Streleț (; born 8 March 1970) is a Moldovan politician who was Prime Minister of Moldova in 2015. He subsequently received a vote of no-confidence on 29 October 2015.
Biography
He has been a member of the Parliament of Moldova since ...
was nominated over Sandu by the
President of Moldova.
On 23 December 2015 she launched a platform "În /pas/ cu Maia Sandu" ("In step with Maia Sandu") that later became a political party called
"Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate" ("Party of Action and Solidarity").
In 2016, Sandu was the pro-European candidate in the
Moldovan presidential election. Running on a pro-EU action platform, she was one of the two candidates that reached the runoff of the election.
According to some polls from 2019, Sandu ranks among the three most trusted politicians in Moldova.
The most recent available poll, conducted by Public Opinion Fund, shows that Sandu is the second most trusted political personality, polling at 24%, closely following Igor Dodon, who polls at 26%. Other older polls, however, place her lower, in sixth place.
Controversies
In September 2016, Sandu instituted proceedings against the State Chancellery, requesting to be presented the shorthand from the Cabinet meeting where the state guarantees for the three bankrupted banks (the Bank of Savings ( ro, Banca de Economii), Unibank and the ''Banca Socială'') had been approved.
Prime Minister
Pavel Filip published on his Facebook page, the shorthand of the last Cabinet meeting, when the decision on granting the emergency credit for the Banca de Economii was adopted. The shorthand included the speeches of former NBM governor Dorin Drăguțanu, former Prime Minister
Chiril Gaburici, and Sandu's own speeches from the time as minister of education. It is mentioned that at the end the decision was voted unanimously. The shorthand was not signed.
Regarding former leader of Romania
Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II.
A Romanian Army career officer who mad ...
, Sandu said in 2018 that he was "a historical figure about whom we may say both good and bad things". Her statements were sharply criticized by the Jewish Community of Moldova (CERM), who issued an open letter stating: "The lack of sanctions for
..Holocaust denial and glorification of fascism in Moldovan legislation allows some opinion leaders and political leaders to not be held accountable for such acts, and lets them create their public image by distorting and revising historical facts and fueling inter-ethnic and inter-religious discrimination and hate."
Sandu replied to this accusation in later interviews by stating: "I regret that my words about the dictator Ion Antonescu were made an object of interpretation.
..My attitude towards any criminal regime of the 20th century, whether Nazi or communist, which have millions of lives on their consciences, is well known and unequivocally negative. Ion Antonescu was a war criminal, rightly condemned by the international community for war crimes against Jewish and Roma people."
On 21 February 2019, Sandu and the candidates of the ACUM electoral bloc, both of the national and uninominal constituency, signed a public commitment according to which after the Parliamentary elections of 24 February 2019 they would not make any coalition with the Party of Socialists, Democratic Party and Shor Party, and if this commitment is violated they will resign as MPs.
She violated this self-imposed commitment after agreeing to
form a coalition government along with the
Party of Socialists in early June 2019.
As Prime Minister
In the
2019 parliamentary election, Sandu's
PAS, together with its ally,
PPDA, led by
Andrei Năstase, formed the
ACUM Electoral Bloc and secured 26 of the 101 seats in the
Parliament of Moldova.
On 8 June 2019, Maia Sandu was elected
Prime Minister of Moldova
The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parlia ...
in a coalition government with
PSRM.
On the same day, the
Constitutional Court of Moldova
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova () represents the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in the Republic of Moldova, autonomous and independent from the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
The task of the Constitu ...
declared unconstitutional her designation for this position as well as the appointment of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, which sparked the
2019 constitutional crisis.
However, on 15 June 2019, the Constitutional Court revised and repealed its previous decisions, declaring the
Sandu Cabinet to have been constitutionally created.
The next day, she called for the restoration of public order, discouraging citizens from attending local rallies. In June 2019, she lifted a March 2017 ban by former Prime Minister Filip of official visits by government officials to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. In one of her first interviews to foreign media, she announced her intention to request that the
United States Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
add
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 ...
to the
Magnitsky List. In August, Sandu asked the State Chancellery to prepare a draft decree declaring 23 August to be the
instead of the regular
Liberation Day. The decree was opposed by her coalition partner, the
PSRM, with Moldova's president and ex-PSRM leader
Igor Dodon
Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the president of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. ...
announcing that he will celebrate the date in the old style, rejecting Sandu's proposal.
Under Maia Sandu, Moldova began taking steps towards the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
as Sandu herself is pro-E.U. Maia Sandu was ousted as prime minister on 12 November 2019, following a vote of
no confidence. She remained as a caretaker of the office until the formation of a new government. However, on 24 December 2020 Maia Sandu took office as state president,
after winning a landslide election against the Pro-Russian Igor Dodon, and again on a pro-E.U. and anti-corruption platform. Under Sandu's leadership, Moldova is once more in a position to resume moving forward towards European integration.
2020 presidential campaign
Sandu announced her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election on 18 July, declaring that a joint
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 ...
candidate would not be needed as there was no risk of there being no pro-European candidates in the second round. Sandu officially launched her campaign on 2 October 2020, holding 2 speeches in Romanian and Russian both promising to fight
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
and
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse , and to reform the
criminal justice system, while accusing President Dodon of deliberately hindering the latter. Because no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off between Sandu and Dodon was held on 15 November, in which Sandu won with 57.75% of the popular vote.
She was congratulated on her win by senior leaders of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, as well as Presidents
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
of Ukraine,
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.
The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
of Azerbaijan, and Klaus Iohannis of
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 ...
. Sandu was also congratulated by
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federa ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, who had initially endorsed Dodon. In her press conference, she declared that Moldova under her leadership "will secure real balance in the foreign policy, being guided by Moldova's national interests, we will have a pragmatic dialogue with all the countries, including Romania, Ukraine, European nations, Russia and the US".
Presidency (2020–present)
Sandu was sworn in on 24 December 2020 in the
Palace of the Republic. During the ceremony, she appealed for national unity, speaking in Russian,
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
,
Gagauz and
Bulgarian towards the end of her remarks. Thousands of her supporters greeted her outside the palace chanting slogans like "Maia Sandu and the people!" and "The people love you!"
After the ceremony, she met Dodon at the Presidential Palace, for a ceremony in which Dodon officially transferred power to her.
That day, she met with acting Prime Minister
Ion Chicu
Ion Chicu (; born 28 February 1972) is a Moldovan politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 2019 until his resignation in 2020.
Biography
He was born on 28 February 1972 in the village of Pîrjolteni, located in the Moldovan ...
.
Domestic policy
Parliament
On 28 December, she met the parliamentary fractions for consultations. On 31 December Sandu named Foreign Minister
Aureliu Ciocoi
Aureliu Ciocoi (; born 5 June 1968 in Chișinău) is a Moldovan diplomat who has served as Acting Prime Minister of Moldova between 2020 and 2021, as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 9 November 2020. He also served as foreign minister in 2019 a ...
acting prime minister after Chicu refused to stay on in an acting capacity. The ex-president of the country, leader of the
Party of Communists Vladimir Voronin and the Leader of Our Party
Renato Usatii proposed their candidacies for the post of prime minister. At a briefing following her visit to Ukraine, Sandu also touched upon the appointment of the prime minister, stating that "Neither Voronin nor Usatii are suitable for the role of prime minister. We need a serious government, created following early elections." On 27 January 2021, she nominated
Natalia Gavrilița
Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who has served as prime minister of Moldova since 2021. Gavrilița was previously proposed as prime minister by Maia Sandu in February 2021, but was rejected ...
as a candidate for the position of Prime Minister, saying that she has the "task of creating the government team and preparing a government program focused on economic development and cleaning up the institutions of the state of corruption". The very next day, Sandu asked MPs to reject her proposed Prime Minister in order to speed up the process of its dissolution and early elections.
Sandu re-nominated Gavrilița on 11 February. The
Constitutional Court of Moldova
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova () represents the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in the Republic of Moldova, autonomous and independent from the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
The task of the Constitu ...
declared the decree unconstitutional, reasoning that Sandu should have accepted a proposal from 54 MPs (primarily from PSRM) to instead nominate
Mariana Durleșteanu
Mariana Durleșteanu (born 5 September 1971, Chișinău) is a politician and economist who was Ambassador of Moldova to London from 2005 until 2008.
Durleșteanu was Minister of Finance in the Moldovan Government from 2008 until the change of ...
, a former Moldovan ambassador to the United Kingdom. Sandu refused the proposal of the Constitutional Court and Parliament, saying, "I have said repeatedly that the only way for Moldova to move forward is to organise new parliamentary elections."
Before the Gavrilița Government could be voted on, some PSRM deputies presented a list signed by PSRM, Pentru Moldova (including the
Șor Party) and another 3 unaffiliated MPs for supporting the candidature of
Mariana Durleșteanu
Mariana Durleșteanu (born 5 September 1971, Chișinău) is a politician and economist who was Ambassador of Moldova to London from 2005 until 2008.
Durleșteanu was Minister of Finance in the Moldovan Government from 2008 until the change of ...
. Sandu declared afterwards that she would not continue consultations, but would not nominate another candidate for Prime Minister. Two options remained: snap elections or a referendum for Sandu's impeachment. On March 16, she again met with parties in the Parliament for consultations. The PSRM delegation was led by
Igor Dodon
Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the president of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. ...
, the president of the party, but not deputy in the Parliament. In the same time, without Dodon's knowledge, Durleșteanu announced that she was retiring her candidature. After the consultations, Sandu announced that there was no parliamentary majority, and in order to end the political crisis, she named
Igor Grosu as Prime Minister.
More political figures, such as
Pavel Filip and
Andrian Candu claimed that Sandu had reached an agreement with Igor Dodon in order to hold early parliamentary elections. Some political analysts stated that the withdrawal of Durleșteanu was planned in order to get closer to snap elections.
On 25 March, Parliament did not vote for Grosu, and the majority of the deputies left the building. Sandu had consultations with all parliamentary forces on 26 March and 29 March. After the Constitutional Court declared the state of emergency unconstitutional, she dissolved the Parliament and called for early elections on 11 July.
COVID-19
During the visit of
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis
Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 20 ...
, he promised Romania would donate 200,000 doses of the
Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. On 16 January, Sandu said that Moldovan authorities would allow residents of Transnistria to be vaccinated with the Russian
Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
The first 21,600 doses of the
Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand names Covishield and Vaxzevria among others, is a viral vector vaccine for prevention of COVID-19. Developed in the United Kingdom by Oxford University and British-Swedish com ...
promised by Romania arrived in
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
on February 28, with the first administrations on March 2. Moldova became the first country in Europe that received vaccines from the
COVAX platform. The first shipment delivered in early March arrived with more than 14,000 doses of Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine.
Sandu got vaccinated on 7 May with the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine after Romania stated its intention to donate thousands of vaccines to Moldova. Sandu had previously stated she would only receive vaccination when it was certain Moldova would have enough vaccines to vaccinate its entire population.
Supreme Security Council
In mid-January 2021, Sandu announced that the
Supreme Security Council
The Supreme Security Council (SSC) ( ro, Consiliul Suprem de Securitate, CSS) is an advisory body to the President of Moldova (concurrently the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Moldovan Armed Forces) which aides and assists the President in the ...
would be reorganized. On 21 January 2021, human rights activist
Ana Revenco was appointed Secretary of the Supreme Security Council and concurrently adviser to Sandu in the field of defense and national security. Revenco's predecessor in these posts, Defense Minister
Victor Gaiciuc
Victor Gaiciuc (born 12 March 1957) is a Moldovan military general, who served as Moldovan Minister of Defense until August 2021. He was also the National Security Advisor to former president Igor Dodon. He is currently the chairman of the Union ...
, remained a member of the Security Council. On 25 January 2021, Sandu signed a decree on the composition of the updated Supreme Security Council, which included:
* Maia Sandu, President of the SSC,
President of Moldova
*
Ana Revenco, Secretary of the SSC, National Security and Defense Advisor to the President
*
,
President of the Parliament
*
Aureliu Ciocoi
Aureliu Ciocoi (; born 5 June 1968 in Chișinău) is a Moldovan diplomat who has served as Acting Prime Minister of Moldova between 2020 and 2021, as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 9 November 2020. He also served as foreign minister in 2019 a ...
,
Acting Prime Minister of Moldova;
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
*
Sergiu Sîrbu, Member of Parliament; Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security, Defense and Public Order
*
Victor Gaiciuc
Victor Gaiciuc (born 12 March 1957) is a Moldovan military general, who served as Moldovan Minister of Defense until August 2021. He was also the National Security Advisor to former president Igor Dodon. He is currently the chairman of the Union ...
,
Minister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...
*
Pavel Voicu,
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 ...
*
Alexandr Esaulenco Alexander is a male given name.
Alexander may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''Alexander'' (1996 film), a Tamil action film
* ''Alexander'' (2004 film), an epic about Alexander the Great directed by Oliver Stone
* ''Alexander'' ...
, Director of the Security and Intelligence Service
*
Alexandr Stoianoglo
Alexandr Stoianoglo (born 3 June 1967 in Comrat) is a Moldovan politician.
Biography
He was a member of the Parliament of Moldova in 2009-2014 and has been Prosecutor General of Moldova since 2019. On 5 October 2021, he was arrested under al ...
,
Prosecutor General of Moldova
*
Octavian Armașu
Octavian Armașu (born 29 July 1969 in Chișinău, USSR) is a Moldovan politician who currently serves as Minister of Finances of Moldova since January 2016, succeeding Anatol Arapu at this post. On 30 November 2018 he became the head of the N ...
, Governor of the
National Bank
*
Andrei Spînu, Secretary General of the Presidential Apparatus
*
Olesea Stamate, Judicial Advisor to the President
*
Veaceslav Negruța
Veaceslav Negruța (born 4 March 1972) is a Moldovan economist. He was the Minister of Finance (2009-2013) in the First Vlad Filat Cabinet and in the Second Filat Cabinet, and in the Leancă Cabinet as well.
Biography
Veaceslav Negruța was ...
, Economic Advisor to the President
*
Ala Nemerenco, Public Health Advisor to the President
*
Igor Grosu, Member of Parliament; Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security, Defense and Public Order
*
Chiril Moțpan, Member of Parliament
*
Sergiu Litvinenco
Sergiu Litvinenco is a Moldovan politician. He serves as Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița
Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who has served as prime mi ...
, Member of Parliament
*
Vladimir Munteanu, Deputy Governor of the National Bank
*
Sergiu Gaibu
Sergiu Gaibu (born 13 May 1976) is the former Minister of Economy of the Republic of Moldova
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "gov ...
*
Tatiana Răducanu
*
Vladislav Kulminski, Ex-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
The renewed Security Council did not include the Minister of Justice
Fadei Nagacevschi
Fadei Nagacevschi (born 30 December 1982) is a Moldovan politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 14 November 2019 to 5 August 2021 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ion Chicu.
He previously served as advisor to the President of Parliamen ...
, the
Governor of Gagauzia
The Governor of Gagauzia, (''Başkan'' ()), is the highest political position in Gagauzia, an autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. They chair the Executive Committee of Gagauzia and are an '' ex-officio'' member of the Cabinet of Moldova.
T ...
Irina Vlah, or the director of the National Centre for Combating Corruption
Ruslan Flocha. Nagacevschi, commenting on this situation, said: "I am glad that I was inconvenient". Former President Dodon declared the Supreme Security Council to be a threat to national security. His political opponent, former Prime Minister and leader of the
Democratic Party Pavel Filip, was in solidarity with the ex-president, saying that "we are seeing double standards".
Foreign policy
European Union and the West
She is a supporter of Moldova's
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its ...
, the country's entry into the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, as well as the resumption of cooperation with the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
. When she received the president of Romania, she declared that "the Republic will integrate into the European space with the help of Romania". Maia Sandu met EU and Belgian political figures in Brussels in January 2021.
She signed on 19 April 2021 in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, France, the
Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021–2024, an
action plan of the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...
with the aim of reforming Moldova's
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
and state
institutions
Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...
and introducing improvements on the country's democracy,
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
and
rule of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
.
After the outbreak of the
2022 Russian invasion in Ukraine, Sandu signed on 3 March 2022 the application for EU membership, together with
Igor Grosu, the President of Moldovan Parliament and
Natalia Gavrilița
Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who has served as prime minister of Moldova since 2021. Gavrilița was previously proposed as prime minister by Maia Sandu in February 2021, but was rejected ...
, the Prime Minister of Moldova. This came on the same day (and for the same reasons) that the country of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
also formally began its journey to join the EU when
Prime Minister of Georgia
The prime minister of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრი, tr) is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia.
In Georgia, the president is a ceremonial head of state and ma ...
Irakli Garibashvili
Irakli Garibashvili ( ka, ირაკლი ღარიბაშვილი, also transliterated as Gharibashvili; born 28 June 1982) is a Georgian politician and a former business executive who serves as the prime minister of Georgia since 2 ...
signed Georgia's application for EU membership.
Romania
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis became the first foreign leader to visit Sandu in Moldova, arriving on 29 December. As part of the
Moldovan–Romanian collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iohannis promised that Romania would aid Moldova with medicines, medical and sanitary protection equipment and 200,000 vaccine units. When going to Paris, in a stopover in Bucharest, she met with the Prime Minister of Romania,
Florin Cîțu.
Furthermore, when asked about how she would vote in case there was a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
on the
unification of Romania and Moldova, Sandu replied that she would personally vote "yes".
Ukraine
In a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba, she confirmed that a visit to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
in January 2021 would become the first foreign trip she will take as president. During her visit on 12 January, she met with
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
, where they agreed to create a Presidential Council to address issues of bilateral relations. She also met with
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 ...
Denys Shmyhal
Denys Anatoliyovych Shmyhal ( uk, Денис Анатолійович Шмигаль; born 15 October 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur who is the current Prime Minister of Ukraine since 2020. Prior to his appointment as prime ...
and parliament speaker
Dmytro Razumkov
Dmytro Oleksandrovych Razumkov ( ua, Дмитро Олександрович Разумков; born 8 October 1983) is a Ukrainian politician and former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (from August 2019 to 7 October 2021). Previously he was leader ...
. She paid tribute to fallen Ukrainians at the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the
National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide
The National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide (), formerly known as the Memorial in Commemoration of the Holodomor-Genocide in Ukraine, is Ukraine's national museum and a centre devoted to the victims of the Holodomor of 1932–1933, a man- ...
.
On 24 February 2022, Moldova announced it was closing its airspace because of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. Shortly after President Sandu condemned the act of war by Russia against Ukraine, saying, "a blatant breach of international law and of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity." She added that Moldova was ready to accept tens of thousands of people fleeing Ukraine after the Russian attack and vowed to keep the borders open to help, saying, "we will help people who need our help and support." As of March 6 over 100,000 Ukrainian citizens had crossed the border into Moldova.
Russia
In an interview to the
TV8 channel, she declared that she is "ready to go to Russia" to discuss issues "concerning trade, exports, settlement of the
Transnistria conflict" and others. She also noted that she intends to visit Kyiv and Brussels before going to Moscow, highlighting her more pro-EU stance. On 11 August 2021, Sandu, alongside other officials, met with
Dmitry Kozak, the Deputy
Kremlin Chief of Staff
The Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation ( rus, Руководи́тель Администра́ции Президе́нта Росси́йской Федера́ции, Rukovoditel' Administratsii Prezi ...
, where they agreed to lift all economic barriers between the two nations and look into the removal of ammunition depots from Transnistria.
Transnistria
Sandu has expressed her view that
Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) should withdraw from the breakaway region of
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
, saying to
RBK TV
RBC TV (russian: РБК) is the first and only 24-hour business news television channel in Russia. It is owned and operated by the RBC Group. The channel was launched in September 2003 in partnership with the CNBC and CNN
CNN (Cable News ...
that, although they guard ammunition depots, "there are no bilateral agreements on the OGRF and on the weapons depots". She also stated that its her position that the "mission should be transformed into an
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
civilian observer mission".
In September 2021, during an interview at a local television station, Sandu was asked to describe the events that took place in 1992 and lead to the
Transnistria War, to which she replied:
She further explained that the
Transnistria conflict was an artificial problem created in order to stop Moldova from gaining its independence and that other former Soviet countries experienced the same thing. Sandu also stated that Moldova is looking exclusively for a peaceful and diplomatic solution in the Transnistria conflict.
Asked about position on opinions which suggest that Moldova should recognise the independence of Transnistria due to the conflict's role in delaying Moldova's
EU integration, Sandu replied that she totally disagrees with such opinions.
Electoral results
Parliamentary
Presidential
Honours and awards
Honors
*:
**
Order of Work Glory (23 July 2014)
*:
**
First Class of the
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise
The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...
(23 August 2021)
*:
**
First Class of the
Order of Vytautas the Great (6 July 2022)
Awards
* 2020 Award of the
Group for Social Dialogue (Romania, 27 January 2021)
References
External links
*
În /pas/ cu Maia Sandu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandu, Maia
1972 births
Living people
21st-century Moldovan women politicians
Female heads of state
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova politicians
Moldovan economists
Moldovan Ministers of Education
Moldovan people of Romanian descent
Moldovan MPs 2014–2018
Moldovan MPs 2019–2023
People from Fălești District
Presidents of Moldova
Prime Ministers of Moldova
Women government ministers of Moldova
Women presidents
Women prime ministers
Female heads of government
Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class