Timofei Moșneaga

Timofei Moșneaga OR
Moșneaga in 2006
Minister of Health
In office 5 April 1994 – 24 January 1997
President	Mircea Snegur Petru Lucinschi
Prime Minister	Andrei Sangheli
Preceded by	Gheorghe Ghidirim
Succeeded by	Mihai Magdei
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 27 February 1994 – 5 April 1994
Succeeded by	Anatolie Popușoi
Parliamentary group	Democratic Agrarian Party
Leader of the Moldovan delegation of observers in the Soviet of the Republics of the Soviet Union
In office 18 October 1991 – 26 December 1991
President	Mircea Snegur
Prime Minister	Valeriu Muravschi
People's Deputy of the Soviet Union
In office 26 March 1989 – 5 September 1991
Constituency	Chișinău
Personal details
Born	6 March 1932 Corjova, Dubăsari District, Moldavian ASSR, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Moldova)
Died	1 June 2014(2014-06-01) (aged 82) Chișinău, Moldova
Resting place	Chișinău Central Cemetery
Children	2
Alma mater	Chișinău State Institute of Medicine
Occupation	Physician associate professor politician
Known for	Director of the Republican Clinical Hospital
Awards	Order of the Republic Order of Lenin State Prize of the Moldavian SSR People's Doctor of the USSR

Timofei Moșneaga (pronounced [timoˈfej moʃˈne̯aɡa]; 6 March 1932 – 1 June 2014) was a Moldovan physician and politician who served as the Minister of Health of Moldova from 1994 to 1997. He was the Director of the Republican Clinical Hospital for over forty years (1960–2003). As of 2017, the hospital is named after him.

Early life

Timofei Moșneaga was born on 6 March 1932 in Corjova, Dubăsari District to Vasile and Eufrosenia Moșneaga. He was one of eight children, having four sisters and three brothers.

He attended primary school in his home village, then secondary school in Dubăsari. In the period 1947–1950 he attended the School of Medical Assistants in Bender and, after graduation, the Faculty of General Medicine of Chișinău State Institute of Medicine. In 1959, after he had obtained his medical diploma, Moșneaga was admitted to doctoral studies. Shortly after finishing his studies, he defended the thesis in medical sciences and afterwards was conferred the academic rank of associate professor.

Career

In early 1960, at the age of 27, he was appointed Director of the Republican Clinical Hospital. Moșneaga held the position for over four decades and made an essential contribution to the development of the institution. The old hospital in adapted buildings during the post-war period did not meet the standards of specialized assistance. Therefore, the new Director became interested in building a new hospital. Finally, after considerable efforts, the hospital was put into operation.

Shortly, specialized departments for patients with somatic and surgical diseases endowed with up-to-date medical technologies, including equipment for the modern method of lithotripsy of kidney stones, opened at the RCH. Departments of gastric surgery, proctology, vascular surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery and endoscopic surgery were established in the surgical building. The Department of Medical Diagnosis was equipped with up-to-date equipment, thus, establishing offices of magnetic resonance tomography, the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Bacteriological Laboratory, the Department of Angiography of Peripheral Vessels and Cardio angiography.

Moșneaga made a great contribution to the creation of proper conditions for teaching, scientific and clinical activities carried out at 15 chairs of the Chișinău Institute of Medicine.

He has published circa 150 scientific papers, including 3 monographs, as well as educated 16 Doctors of Medicine.

In 1980 Moldovan filmmaker Anatol Codru produced a biopic about Timofei Moșneaga titled My Life's Dream. The music for the film was composed by Arkady Luxemburg. For the design and construction of the new building of the Republican Clinical Hospital, Moșneaga was awarded the title of Laureate of the State Prize of the Moldavian SSR in literature, arts and architecture (1982).

In 2002, in honour of Moșneaga's 70th birthday, Moldovan publicist Ion Stici wrote a biography titled Timofei Moșneaga – The People's Doctor.

For outstanding merits in his professional activity, Moșneaga was awarded the honorary titles of Merited Doctor of the Moldavian SSR, People's Doctor of the USSR and received high state distinctions, among which the Order of the Republic. In 2003, he was awarded the title of Honorary Director of the Republican Clinical Hospital.

Political career

In 1957, he was elected Member of the Chișinău City Council.

In 1989, Moșneaga was elected People's Deputy of the Soviet Union and was a member of the Supreme Soviet Committee on Foreign Affairs. He, alongside Eugen Doga, were the only members of the Moldavian faction that penned an open letter to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, condemning the separatist movement brewing in Transnistria at the time. Following Moldova's proclamation of independence, he was appointed leader of the Moldovan group of special observers in the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1994, he was elected Member of the Moldovan Parliament, being a member of the Committee for Social Protection, Healthcare and Ecology.

In the period 1994–1997, Moșneaga served as the Minister of Health of Moldova. During his term as minister, he advocated for the preservation of the national medical heritage, strengthening the efficiency of the country's medical personnel and health institutions. He worked with the Japanese government to attract investments into the national healthcare system and as a result, a large part of hospitals across Moldova were equipped with Siemens' state-of-the-art medical equipment. In 1995, the Health Ministry headed by Moșneaga elaborated the National Healthcare Law, which, to this day, regulates the activity of the Moldovan healthcare system. During his mandate, he established relations with the World Health Organization, whose regional office was opened in Chișinău.

Bust on the Alley of Brilliant Scientists and Doctors in Chișinău

Personal life

Timofei Moșneaga was married to Maria Moșneaga (née Burlacu) an obstetrician-gynaecologist, Doctor of Medicine, recipient of the Order of Work Glory. They had two sons.

Legacy

Moșneaga passed away on 1 June 2014 in Chișinău.

His bust stands among 41 other distinguished doctors on the Alley of Brilliant Scientists and Doctors in Chișinău, near the Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

As of 19 July 2017, per the Moldovan Cabinet's decision, the Republican Clinical Hospital bears the name of Timofei Moșneaga.

On 6 October 2017, in honour of the RCH's 200th anniversary, a bas-relief commemorating Timofei Moșneaga was installed at the hospital's main entrance.

Honours and awards

Bas-relief at the RCH's main entrance

Year	Country	Honour
1961			Medal "For Labour Valour"
1966			Merited Doctor of the Moldavian SSR
1970			Jubilee Medal "For Valiant Labour – In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
1971			Order of the Badge of Honour
1976			Order of the Red Banner of Labour
1979			People's Doctor of the USSR
1982			State Prize of the Moldavian SSR
1986			Order of Lenin
1997			Order of the Republic
2004			Nicolae Testemițanu Medal

Portrait by Vasile Nașcu

Further reading

• Baciu, Gheorghe (2018). Personalități notorii ale neamului: 140 de destine [Notorious Figures of the Nation: 140 Destinies] (in Romanian). Chișinău. pp. 186–189. ISBN 978-9975-129-32-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Borșevici, Ion (2003). Mari lumini ale spiritului uman [The Great Lights of the Human Spirit] (in Romanian). Chișinău: Basarabia.
• Stici, Ion (2002). Medicul poporului Timofei Moșneaga [Timofei Moșneaga – The People's Doctor] (in Romanian). Chișinău: Central Printing Office. ISBN 9975-78-175-6.