Petru Lucinschi (; born 27 January 1940) is a former

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

n politician who was Moldova's second President (1997–2001).

Biography

Early life and education

Petru Lucinschi was born on 27 January 1940 in Rădulenii Vechi village, Soroca County,

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

(now

Florești district Florești () is a district () in the north-east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Florești. The other major cities are Ghindeşti and Mărculeşti. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 90,000. History Localities with the oldest ...

) into the family of Kirill Vasilievich Lucinschi. Lucinschi carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname Łuczyński, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage. In 1962, he graduated from Chisinau State University. During his studies, he was the secretary of the local Komsomol. From 1963 to 1964, he was engaged in Komsomol work in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. He has a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

(1977) from the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Career in the Communist Party

In 1964, he was admitted to the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. From 1971, Lucinschi was a member of the Executive Committee (

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

) of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the Communist Party in

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

. He was the only native Moldovan in the leadership of Communist Party of Moldova at that time, when the leadership of Moldavian SSR was almost completely in the hands of people from outside the republic or

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 ...

ns. From 1978 to 1989, he was First Secretary of Chișinău City Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. In 1978,

Ivan Bodiul Ivan Ivanovich Bodiul (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Бо́дюл; – 27 January 2013) was a Soviet and Moldovan politician prominent in the Moldavian SSR, particularly during the Brezhnev era. He was primarily responsible for the co ...

sent him to work for the

, where Lucinschi remained until 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Lucinschi was second secretary of the

of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Upon his return to

in 1989, he became first secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova. His appointment followed the civil unrest on 7 November during the 72nd anniversary

celebrations Celebration or Celebrations may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Celebration'' (musical), by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, 1969 * ''Celebration'' (play), by Harold Pinter, 2000 * ''Celebration'' (TV series), a Canadian music TV serie ...

of the

Great October Socialist Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. In early 1991, he was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of the

, so he again left

for Moscow.

Post-Soviet career

In 1991, he was appointed as Ambassador of Moldova in Russia. On 4 February 1993, he was elected as

Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament The President of the Parliament ( ro, Președintele Parlamentului) is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Parliament of Moldova. The current President of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic ...

, being re-elected on 29 March 1994 for a new term. He held the position until 1997.

Presidency

Lucinschi was elected

's second

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in November 1996. Upon his assumption to office, many Western media outlets portrayed him as a Moscow man who remained oriented toward the Soviet past. He was often seen as the lesser evil to Vladimir Voronin from the Party of Communists. Under his leadership, the reforms started by his predecessor Mircea Snegur were continued. It also marked the beginning of Moldova's distance from the nations of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

and closer relations with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Over his four years in power, the Lucinschi administration was marked by fierce confrontations in Parliament. He served until 2001, when he called a snap election, and 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 ...

voted in favour of Vladimir Voronin.

Post-presidency

Ilham Aliyev received former President of Moldova Petru Lucinschi

Since leaving office, he has continued to meet with his former counterparts, including Azerbaijani leader

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, ...

, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, Estonian president Arnold Rüütel, and Ukrainian president

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

. Upon the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of former Russian president

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

, he described him as a politician who "paid a lot of attention to the national aspirations of countries of the USSR conglomerate", saying in addition that he "played an essential role for young independent states like Moldova". In 2018, he published his book ''Pyotr Kirillovich Luchinsky - Member of the Politburo and President'', authored by Russian writer Mikhail Lukichev. In early 2019, President

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. H ...

invited Lucinschi together with ex-president Mircea Snegur on a tour of the newly renovated Presidential Palace, which was in need for repairs for over a decade. In 2020, Lucinschi, along with 49 fellow members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center based in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, called for international action to tackle new waves of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Personal life

Lucinschi was married to Antonina (d. 2006), a retired schoolteacher, and has two sons, Sergiu and Chiril. Chirill is a businessman and politician who was as member of parliament as well as a professional basketball player.

Awards

Domestic

* Order of the Republic (27 January 2005) *

Order of Ștefan cel Mare Order of Ștefan cel Mare ( ro, Ordinul «Ștefan cel Mare»), alternatively known as the Order of Stephen the Great is a state award of Moldova, established on 30 June 1992. It is the highest military order of the nation. It is named after Stephen ...

, II Degree (

Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova The Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova ( ro, Mitropolia Chișinăului și a întregii Moldove; russian: Кишинёвско-Молда́вская митропо́лия), also referred to as the Moldovan Orthodox Church ( ro, Biserica Or ...

, February 9, 2010) * Om Emerit (28 January 2015)

Soviet

* Order of the Red Banner of Labor (twice)Лучинский, Пётр Кириллович
/ref> *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

Foreign

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 1998) * Order of Redeemer (

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, 1999) * Grand Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre (

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

, Jerusalem, 2000) *Medal "Bethlehem 2000" (

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

, 2000) * Order "Star of Romania" (

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 ...

, 2000) *Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, 6 September 1997) *Honorary Citizen of the City of Astana

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucinschi Petru 1940 births Living people People from Florești District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Party leaders of the Soviet Union Presidents of Moldova Moldovan communists Romanian people of Moldovan descent Presidents of the Moldovan Parliament Communist Party of Moldavia politicians First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Moldavia Moldovan MPs 1990–1994 Moldovan MPs 1994–1998 Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania