Zinaida Greceanîi
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Zinaida Greceanîi (; born 7 February 1956Page on Greceanii at government website
.
) is a
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. She was the
President of the Moldovan Parliament The President of the Parliament ( ro, Președintele Parlamentului) is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Moldova. The current President of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic Republic Moldav ...
between 8 June 2019 to 26 July 2021. Greceanîi was previously also the
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 parliam ...
from 31 March 2008"Moldova's Parliament approves new government"
, Associated Press (''International Herald Tribune''), 31 March 2008.
to 14 September 2009. She led the
Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova 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 ...
(PSRM) from 2016 to 2020 and was previously a member of the
Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Партидул Комуништилор дин Република Молдова, italic=no, Partidul Comuniștilor din Republica Moldova; russian: Партия коммунистов Р ...
(PCRM)."Moldova's Leader Nominates First Female Prime Minister"
Associated Press (''The Moscow Times''), 24 March 2008.
She was Moldova's first female Prime Minister and was the second female Communist head of government in Europe, the first having been Premier
Milka Planinc Milka Planinc ( Malada; ; 21 November 1924 – 7 October 2010) was a Croatian politician active in SFR Yugoslavia. She served as Prime Minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1982 to 1986, the first and only woman to hold this ...
of Yugoslavia. She has been referred to by her colleagues in PSRM as the "Moldovan
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
".


Background

Greceanîi was born in
Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast (russian: То́мская о́бласть, ''Tomskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative cen ...
in Siberia in the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
of 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 national ...
. Her parents, Marioara Ursu (1918–1993) and Petrea Bujor (1906–1996), were
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
in 1951 from Cotiujeni in the north of Moldova during the Operation North because they were
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
. Her brother died during the
deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
. Zinaida Greceanîi and her parents came back to Cotiujeni only in 1968. She was
baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
as
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
by her grandmother on mother's side. She graduated from the Financial and Economic College in the capital
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 ...
and the State University of Moldova. Greceanîi is married to Alexei Greceanîi and has two children.


Career

In the mid 90th, was employed as the head of the Department at the Ministry of Finance. She was Deputy Minister of Finances from 2000 to 2001 and First Deputy Minister of Finances from 2001 to 2002. President
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born 25 May 1941) is a Soviet and Moldovan politician. He was the third president of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) since 1994. He ...
appointed her as Interim Minister of Finances on 8 February 2002 and then appointed her as Minister of Finances on 26 February 2002 as the only woman in the cabinet. After serving as Finance Minister for more than three years, she was appointed by Voronin as First Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova on 10 October 2005. In the summer, she won the 2005 Chișinău election, but they were declared invalid because of the low turnout. According to the polls made in 2019 related to the most popular politicians of the Republic of Moldova, Zinaida Greceanii is ranked at the second position of the top of politicians which enjoyed the highest trust from the Moldovans citizens side, and according to some other polls she was given the sixth and at the eighth rank accordingly.


Prime minister

Following the resignation 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 ...
on 19 March 2008, President
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born 25 May 1941) is a Soviet and Moldovan politician. He was the third president of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) since 1994. He ...
nominated Greceanîi as Prime Minister. The Cabinet of Zinaida Greceanîi was approved by Parliament on 31 March; it received 56 votes in favor out of the 101 members of Parliament. According to Greceanîi, the immediate focus of her
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
would on "freedom of the media, an active dialogue with civil society and an independent judiciary". She increased the number of women ministers from 2 to 5 (25 per cent) and followed up on laws of gender equality. Greceanii resigned on 9 September 2009, saying she was unable to simultaneously hold the posts of prime minister and member of parliament at the same time. On 10 September 2009, Moldova's President
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born 25 May 1941) is a Soviet and Moldovan politician. He was the third president of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) since 1994. He ...
signed a decree appointing Justice Minister
Vitalie Pîrlog Vitalie Pîrlog (; born July 28, 1974, Nisporeni) is a Moldovan politician. Education and early career Between 1992 and 1997, he studied at the Free International University of Moldova ( Chişinău) (Law Department), receiving a Degree in Inte ...
as acting Prime Minister from 14 September until a new government was formed.


Events of 7 April 2009

Zinaida Greceanîi, the prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, within the events of 7 April 2009, became famous in the public space by her symbolic statements, that the policemen are ready to use the weapons against the protesters, and came with the message: "''The organizers of the biggest crime are ready to use children in the next days. If this will happen, to avoid casualties would be very hard. The police will use all necessary measure to defence the constitutionality, including the weapons''". Six years later, in April 2015, Greceanîi stated at the Interpol TV-show, broadcast by TV7, that she did right when she declared in 2009 "''that there will be bloodshed''". In the investigation of the events of 7 April Zinaida Greceanîi, who has remained in history by her statement, when she begged the country's "mothers" to keep their children at home, because of the weapons that had to be used. In this respect, she has been heard once by the prosecutors, and event then, as a witness.


Moldovan presidential election, May–June 2009

Her party won the April 2009 election with 49.48% of the vote and she won one of the 60 seats of the PCRM in the
Moldovan Parliament The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period of 4 years. Parliamen ...
. She was twice an unsuccessful candidate of the PCRM for the post of the
President of Moldova The President of the Republic of Moldova () is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020. Duties and functions The office of the presidency in Moldova is largely ceremonial, w ...
, on 20 May and 3 June 2009, lacking only one vote to obtain the required 3/5 (61) of the votes. In both rounds, alternative male candidates were also nominated by the PCRM and obtained 0 votes and Greceanîi all 60 Communist party votes. New elections were held and after the July 2009 parliamentary election, Greceanîi again won a seat in the Moldovan Parliament, but the PCRM only got 48 seats and the opposition to the Communist Party, the Alliance for European Integration, agreed to create a governing coalition.


Leaving the PCRM and joining the PSRM

In autumn 2011, Zianida Greceanîi, together with Igor Dodon, left PCRM and joined the Party of Socialists (PSRM) led by Veronica Abramciuc. In 2011, the party leader became Igor Dodon and stayed in this position until 2016. After the Republic of Moldova president election, the acting leader of the Party of Socialists became Zinaida Greceanîi, who on 18 December 2016 was officially elected as party chairman. At the elections of 30 November 2014 Zinaida Greceanîi was at the top position of the PSRM electoral list.


Subsequent career

She contested the
mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
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 ...
at the 2015 local elections, where she progressed to a run-off against incumbent
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 ...
. Ultimately she was unsuccessful, losing to Chirtoacă 46.56% to 53.46% on 28 June.http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova-election-chisinau-mayor-eu-russia/27099585.html Pro-EU Incumbent Declared Winner in Moldova Mayoral Runoff On 18 November 2016, she was elected Chairman of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, taking office on 23 December 2016. She was elected as 12th
President of the Moldovan Parliament The President of the Parliament ( ro, Președintele Parlamentului) is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Moldova. The current President of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic Republic Moldav ...
8 June 2019, which sparked a brief 8-day
constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this d ...
in the country.


Controversies


Import of electricity

Zinaida Greceanîi and Igor Dodon were involved in a collusive import scheme of the electricity and became subject to a complaint filed to the Prosecutor General's Office. Since 1 June 2008 Moldova has purchased electricity from Ukraine at a price that was by 10% higher than that paid in May. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Dodon announced the new price as a "remarkable success", reasoning that, initially, the Ukrainian side demanded a 50% increase. However, the Chișinău corridors were talking about the fact that the price increase was made for the benefit of a company registered in Hungary behind which would be persons delegated by the leadership of Moldova and
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 ...
. Following the "negotiations", a private intermediary was included in the Ukrainian import scheme. In the meantime, the energy experts have received more official information from ANRE, which showed that only one year ago the intermediary company got a profit of over 14.5 million dollars from the energy price difference. The Government was responsible for importing electricity. And according to a provision signed by then Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanîi, the negotiating group for the signing the electricity supply contract in Ukraine was composed by Igor Dodon, at that time the Minister of Economy, Alexandr Gusev, the Director of Energocom and Marcu Rimish, from Moldelectrica.


Credits from BEM

In 2008, Zinaida Greceanîi, was Minister of Finance, and her husband, Alexei, was the member of the Board of Directors of Vin Cojusna Factory, a company that took a credit from Banca de Economii (BEM) in the amount of 1.63 million Euro and US$500,000. For the Greceanîi family, was not a problem to get this loan, all the more so since the Ministry of Finance was responsible for the state's package of the BEM assets. Two years ago, in 2010, the Cojusna factory went bankrupt, and in 2011 a certain "Alsvit-print" firm, founded by an off-shore company controlled by Alexei Greceanîi, had bought the assets of the factory, pledged at the bank, with another credit of 40 million of MDL also contracted from BEM. One year after the launch of the Bank of Economy liquidation process, the amounts that came from the sale of the assets and property of the bank are insignificant. The most precious batch auctioned is the Cojusna Wine Factory that came to court after Alexei Greceanîi, the husband of the former prime minister and the current Socialist leader Zinaida Greceanii, has not returned tens of millions of MDL. On 15 July 2019, the PL leader, Dorin Chirtoacă, presented several documents according to which it was shown that Zinaida Greceanii was involved in getting BEM's credits, which were not returned. He asked Zinaida Greceanii to resign from her position of President of the Moldovan Parliament, accusing her of implication in bank fraud.


Integrity

Before the parliamentary elections of 28 November 2010, the Civic Initiative for a Clean Parliament, which drew up a list of the candidates with integrity issues, noted that because of the Minister of Finance, Zinaida Greceanîi Moldova was convicted to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
in the case of "Offer Plus" Company, which led the state to pay damages and outstanding debts to the company in the amount of 2.5 million Euro.


See also

*
Politics of Moldova The politics of Moldova take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, wherein the prime minister is the head of the Government of Moldova, and a multi-party system. The President of Moldova has no important po ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greceanii, Zinaida 1956 births Deputy Prime Ministers of Moldova Presidents of the Moldovan Parliament Living people Members of the parliament of Moldova Moldova State University alumni Moldovan communists Moldovan economists Moldovan female MPs Moldovan MPs 2009 Moldovan MPs 2009–2010 Women government ministers of Moldova People from Tomsk Oblast Russian emigrants to Moldova Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova politicians Prime Ministers of Moldova Moldovan Ministers of Finance Women prime ministers 21st-century Moldovan women politicians Recipients of the Order of Honour (Moldova) Female finance ministers Female heads of government Communist rulers