Victor Gaiciuc (born 12 March 1957) 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 Transnistr ...

n 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 of Officers of Moldova The Union of Officers of Moldova ( ro, Uniunea ofițerilor din Moldova, russian: Союз офицеров Молдовы) or SОRМ is a Moldovan non-governmental organisation based in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. It serves as an organizati ...

and was also the secretary of the Supreme Security Council.

Biography

Victor Gaiciuc was born on 12 March 1957 in the village of Pepeni, in the

Sîngerei District Sîngerei () is a district () in the north of Moldova, with the administrative center at Sîngerei. The other major city is Biruința. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 93,400. Between 1944 and 1991, Sîngerei district was called ''Lazo ...

of the

Moldovan 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 graduated from the Kharkov Air Defense High School (now the

Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University The Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University is a state university administered by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and is located in the city of Kharkiv. The university is named in honor of the Soviet military pilot Ivan Kozhedub. History ...

) in 1978 and then studied at the

Lenin Military-Political Academy The V. I. Lenin Military-Political Academy ( (VPA)) was a higher military educational institution of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1919 to 1991 that provided advanced training to political workers. History The predecessor of the academy was ...

from 1986 to 1989, later obtaining the scientific title of Doctor of Historical Sciences. In between that time, he was pilot of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

, commanding aviation regiments in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. After graduating in 1989, he became responsible for training personnel in the Belarusian Military District. In 1993, Gaiciuc returned to the newly independent

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 "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, where he is appointed as a chief specialist in the Ministry of Defense. On June 3, 1997, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, responsible for staff training, military legislation and international relations. That same year, he began to take courses at the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was removed from his position on 7 April 1999, becoming a commissioner in the ministry and serving in that position for one year. He was reappointed as deputy defense minister in April 2000 who was responsible for international cooperation.

Defence Minister (2001–2004)

By a parliamentary and vote of confidence on April 19, 2001, Colonel Gaiciuc was appointed as the Minister of Defense in the Government of Prime Minister

Vasile Tarlev Vasile Tarlev (born October 6, 1963) is a Moldovan politician. Background and earlier life He studied engineering and became a member of assorted economic councils. After 2001 Moldovan parliamentary election, He was appointed Prime Minister on A ...

, with Gaiciuc being promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

just 10 months later. In early 2004, he awarded three Moldovan soldiers serving in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

with the Medal of Merit. He was dismissed from office on 15 October 2004 by presidential decree after the Supreme Security Council made an appeal for his dismissal, criticizing his work in the defense ministry and finding him responsible for the theft of arms.

Diplomatic career

On 12 January 2005, Gaiciuc was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of

to the Kingdom of Belgium and concurrently representative of the country to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. He held these positions for close a year before additionally becoming the ambassador of

to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, residing in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Adviser to President Dodon

He was appointed to the post of Supreme Security Council Secretary in August 2019, succeeding Artur Gameniuc who was transferred to the

Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova The Security and Intelligence Service of the Republic of Moldova (''Serviciul de Informații și Securitate al Republicii Moldova''; SIS) is a state body specialized in ensuring national security by exercising all appropriate intelligence and coun ...

. On 2 September, he met with secretary of the

Security Council of Russia The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF or Sovbez; russian: Совет безопасности Российской Федерации (СБРФ), Sovet bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (SBRF)) is a constitutional consultative bo ...

Nikolai Patrushev Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and intelligence officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of ...

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 millio ...

where he was invited to attend an annual meeting between the secretaries of the security councils of CIS member states in Moscow. In stating what his mandate would look like, he vowed to "direct my efforts to further promote patriotic values". In February 2019, he was elected to the Moldovan Parliament. In his official position as advisor, he accompanied Dodon during the

2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade The 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Moscow's Red Square on 24 June 2020 to commemorate the 75th Diamond Jubilee of both the capitulation of Nazi Germany in the Second World War in 1945 and the historic Mosco ...

. Two weeks earlier, he had been ordered by Dodon to see off the Moldovan contingent participating in the parade at the airport.

Defence Minister (2019–2020, 2020-2021)

He was appointer by 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 C ...

to lead the new technocratic government following the collapse of 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 ...

led by Prime Minister

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 ...

, who was ousted in a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

after a disagreement with the co-governing Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. He was handed the banner of the defense ministry by President Dodon from his predecessor Pavel Voicu on 14 November. In an interview, he deflected concerns about a relationship with Dodon, stating that "service and personal relationships are two different things". In early 2020, Gaiciuc signed an agreement with Bishop

Vladimir (Cantarean) Vladimir (Cantarean), born Nicolae Cantarean on August 18, 1952, is a bishop of the Moldovan Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. He serves as Metropolitan of Chişinău and All Moldova and thus as first hierarch of the Church of Mo ...

of the

Moldovan Orthodox Church Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to: *Moldovans, the main ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova *''Moldavians'', the inhabitants of the historical territory of the ...

on religious cooperation with the

Moldovan National Army The Moldovan National Army ( ro, Armata Națională a Republicii Moldova) is the senior branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova composed of the Air Force and the Land Forces. The National Army is considered to be the regular duty m ...

. Around the same time, he oversaw the creation of the National Council for War Veterans Affairs, an association which he is the president of. He was dismissed on 16 March 2020, being replaced by Alexandru Pînzari. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Divisional general. He was reappointed on 9 November 2020, following the first round of Moldovan presidential election on 1 November. In August 2021, he is replaced as Defence Minister by Anatolie Nosatîi.

Private life

Gaiciuc is currently married with two children. He is currently decorated with military distinctions of

, as well as distinctions from other countries (

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-eig ...

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 ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

). Among his awards are the

Medal "For Impeccable Service" The Medal "For Impeccable Service" (russian: Медаль «За безупречную службу») was a Soviet military award for long service awarded to deserving members of the military personnel of the armed forces of the USSR, of the Int ...

, the Order of the Republic and the Medal "100 years of Aviation". Gaiciuc speaks Romanian, Russian and French. He is considered to be a good friend of Moldovan president Igor Dodon, who had proposed Gaiciuc to the position of defense minister following his rejection of

Eugen Sturza Eugen Sturza (born 15 December 1984) is a Moldovan politician. He was the Minister of Defence of Moldova under President Igor Dodon and Prime Minister Pavel Filip. Sturza at the time of his appointment was the youngest member of the Filip Cabi ...

to the office.

Gallery

File:Jassy–Kishinev Offensive anniversary 11.jpg, Gaiciuc with Voicu and Sergey Shoigu in Bender, August 2019. File:Gaichuk.jpeg, Gaiciuc in June 2004. File:Shoigu in Moldova 01.jpg, Gaiciuc (center left) with Moldovan President Igor Dodon (center) and Defence Minister Pavel Voicu in August 2019.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaiciuc, Victor 1957 births Living people Moldovan Ministers of Defense Moldovan generals Soviet aviators