Petru Lucinschi

Petru Lucinschi
Petru Lucinschi in 2000
2nd President of Moldova
In office 15 January 1997 – 7 April 2001
Prime Minister	Ion Ciubuc Serafim Urechean Ion Sturza Dumitru Braghiş
Preceded by	Mircea Snegur
Succeeded by	Vladimir Voronin
First secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova
In office 16 November 1989 – 4 February 1991
Prime Minister	Ivan Calin Petru Pascari Mircea Druc
Preceded by	Semion Grossu
Succeeded by	Grigore Eremei
Full member of the 28th Politburo
In office 14 July 1990 – 29 August 1991
Secretary of the 28th Central Committee
In office 31 January 1991 – 29 August 1991
Personal details
Born	(1940-01-27) 27 January 1940 Rădulenii Vechi, Soroca County, Kingdom of Romania
Political party	Agrarian Party of Moldova
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of Moldova, Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse	Antonina Lucinschi ( -2006)
Children	Chiril, Sergiu
Profession	Politician

Petru Lucinschi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpetru luˈt͡ʃinski]; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President (1997–2001).

Biography

Petru Lucinschi was born on 27 January 1940 in Rădulenii Vechi village, Soroca County, Kingdom of Romania (now Florești district). He has a PhD in Philosophy (1977) from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

From 1971, Lucinschi was a member of the Executive Committee (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Moldavian SSR. 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 Transnistrians.

From 1978 to 1989, he was First Secretary of Chișinău City Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. In 1978, Ivan Bodiul sent him to work for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, where Lucinschi remained until 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Lucinschi was second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Upon his return to Moldavian SSR in 1989, he became first secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova.

In early 1991, he was appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, so he again left Moldavian SSR for Moscow.

Vladimir Putin and Petru Lucinschi, Chișinău, 17 June 2000

In 1992, he was appointed as Ambassador of Moldova in Russia. On 4 February 1993, he was elected as Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, being re-elected on 29 March 1994 for a new term. He held the position until 1997.

Lucinschi was elected Moldova's second president in November 1996. He served until 2001, when he called a snap election, and the Parliament voted in favour of Vladimir Voronin.

Personal Life

Lucinschi was married to Antonina (d. 2006), a retired schoolteacher, and has two sons, Sergiu and Chiril.

Awards

• Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France, 1998)
• Order of Redeemer (Greece, 1999)
• Grand Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre (Greek Orthodox Church, Jerusalem, 2000)
• Order "Star of Romania" (Romania, 2000)