The Moldovan Border Police also commonly known as the Moldovan Frontier Police is the official paramilitary

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Gua ...

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

. It is currently a department of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

(MAI) and exercises its powers and policy in the accordance with the ministry. It was originally founded as the Border Guard Troops, and later the Border Guard Service of the

Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Forțele Armate ale Republicii Moldova) consist of the National Army (which is divided into the Land Forces Command and the Air Forces Command) and the Trupele de Carabinieri under the Ministry ...

. It would remain a military branch until a 2012 government reform, putting it under the control of the MAI. The Day of the Border Police is celebrated annually on 10 June.

History

Following the fall 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 ...

, the newly elected first

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 ...

Mircea Snegur Mircea Snegur (; born 17 January 1940) is a Moldovan politician who was served as President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), first President of Moldova from 1990–1997. Before that, he served as President of Moldova, Chairman o ...

founded the border police on September 3, 1991. The administration of the border troops was entrusted to the Ministry of National Security of Moldova under the subordination of the entire subunit of the former

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops (russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR) were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Di ...

deployed on Moldovan territory. On January 11, 1992, Colonel Vasile Calmoi was appointed as the first commander of the boarder troops. In accordance with a government decree which was signed on June 15, 1992, the Moldovan Border Troops became an official separate branch of the armed forces, with the law "On the State Border of the Republic of Moldova", coming into force by November 1994. Border guards day was first celebrated in Moldova on May 27, 1995 as the professional holiday of the Border Guard Troops of Moldova, before later being celebrated annually on June 10, which marks the day that President Snegur handed the flag of the border troops to promoted Brigader General Calmoi. In December 1999, the Moldovan Border Guard was reorganized into the Department of the Border Guard Troops of the

and was withdrawn from the Ministry of National Security a month and a half later. On December 1, 2005 the European Union Border Assistance Mission to the

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 ...

(EUBAM) was launched and on July 13, 2006, the EUBAM Territorial Office in Moldova and Ukraine was opened by the Border Guard Service. On January 10, 2007, the border service established the ''National Border Police College'' in Chisinau. On July 1, 2012, the Prime Minister

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was the Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He ...

signed a law, which would shift the border service from the armed forces to the internal affairs ministry.

Responsibilities

In the field of border management, the border police's main purpose is to fight against illegal migration and cross-border crime. In order to fulfill these tasks, the border police finds and examines the contraventions, undertakes the judicial expertise of the documents, performs special investigative measures. The border police performs these duties within the boundaries of the Moldovan borders with

, and

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 ...

. The basic principles of which the border police follows include: legality, impartiality, respect for human rights, transparency, personal responsibility, and professionalism. The MAI exercises control and coordinates the activity of the border police as well as elaborates and promotes the state policy of the service. It has signed many agreements with the

Romanian Border Police The Romanian Border Police ( ro, Poliția de Frontieră) is the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Romania), Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for the border security and passport control at border crossing points, airpo ...

and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for joint cooperation in the policing of their borders as well as the

Transnistrian 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 ...

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 border.

Organization

The official structure of the Moldovan Border Police

Organizational structure of the Border Police Department

* Leadership * General Border Control Directorate * General Operations Management Division * Human Resources General Directorate * Prosecution Department * Special Investigation Division * Legal and contraventional practice * Risk Analysis Division * Documentation Directorate * Inspection Directorate * Policy and Assistance Directorate * Directorate for International Cooperation * Logistics and procurement * Management Department * Department of Economics and Finance * Secretariat (with management status) * Internal audit department * Public relations department

Subdivisions subordinated to the Border Police Department

* North Regional Directorate * West Regional Direction * South Regional Directorate * East Regional Directorate * Center Regional Directorate * Border Police Sector Chisinau International Airport * Police Band * Center of Excellence in Border Security

List of General Directors

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 ...

Vasile Calmoi (January 11, 1992 – June 6, 2001) *

Igor Colenov (June 6, 2001 – December 17, 2009) *

Alexei Roibu (December 17, 2009 – April 8, 2011) * Roman Revenco (April 8, 2011 – August 29, 2012) * Dorin Purice (August 29, 2012) * Fredolin Lecari (since September 28, 2016)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Border guards Border guards Government paramilitary forces Military of Moldova Law enforcement in Moldova Military units and formations established in 1991