Moldovan politician (born 1941)
Vladimir Voronin
(
pronounced
[vladi?mir
vo?ronin]
; born
Vladimir Bujeni??
, 25 May 1941) is a
Moldovan
politician. He was the third
President of Moldova
from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the
Party of Communists of Moldova
(PCRM) since 1994. He was Europe's first democratically elected
communist party
head of state
after the dissolution of the
Eastern Bloc
.
Family and education
[
edit
]
Vladimir Voronin was born as Vladimir Bujeni?? in the village of
Corjova
, located that time in the Romanian-administered
Transnistria Governorate
. Although Voronin is a lifelong communist who pursued unfriendly policies towards
Romania
at various times during the 2000s, his grandfather
Isidor Sarbu
was an anticommunist fighter in Romania after 1944.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Voronin's mother, Pelagheia Bujeni??, died on 2 July 2005.
[6]
His biological father, Nicolae Bujeni??, died during
World War II
. Voronin was raised by his step-father, Nikolai Voronin, an ethnic Russian and a communist activist.
[7]
Voronin graduated from the Cooperation
Tekhnikum
(
Kooperativny tekhnikum
) of
Chi?in?u
(1961), the All-Union Institute for Food Industry (1971), the
Academy of Social Sciences
of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(1983), and the Academy of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union
(1991). Voronin's CV states he is an
economist
,
engineer
,
political science
graduate, and
jurist
by education.
Early career
[
edit
]
He began working in 1961 as the head of a bakery in the town of
Criuleni
. From 1966 until 1971, Voronin held the offices of vice-director of the bread factory in
Criuleni
and head of the bread factory in
Dub?sari
.
After 1971, he was active in the state administration of the Moldavian SSR, being in turn a member of the Dub?sari and
Ungheni
township executive committees, of the Ungheni District Executive Committee, and, starting 1983, inspector and vice-director of the Organization Section of the
Central Committee
of the
Moldavian branch
of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. In 1985, he was appointed head of section in the Council of Ministers of the Moldavian SSR. Between 1985 and 1989, Voronin served as first secretary of the Bender City Committee of the Communist Party. Between 1988 and 1990, he held the office of the
Minister of Internal Affairs
of the
Moldovan SSR
. In this capacity he advocated against the use of force to quell
anti-Soviet popular demonstrations on 7 and 10 November 1989
,
[8]
a regretful reference to which he made when addressing the country on TV on 8 April 2009 after
anti-government protests
were quelled by the police. Voronin was also a member of the
Supreme Soviet
of the Moldavian SSR of 10th and 11th legislatures.
In 1993, Voronin became the co-president of the Organizational Committee for the creation of the
Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
(PCRM). He played a central role in reviving the Communist Party after it was banned in 1991?1993. In 1994 he was elected
President
of the PCRM. He was a candidate for the post of President of the now-independent
Republic of Moldova
at the
1996 elections
. In the
parliamentary election in March 1998
, Vladimir Voronin was elected as a
Member of Parliament
. He then served as member of its Permanent Bureau and as president of the PCRM's parliamentary faction, which held 40 of 101 seats.
Voronin was nominated as
Prime Minister of Moldova
by President
Petru Lucinschi
in late 1999, but the nomination was unsuccessful because Voronin did not have enough support in parliament.
[9]
In the
parliamentary election in February 2001
, he was again elected as a Member of Parliament.
Presidential career
[
edit
]
First mandate
[
edit
]
The PCRM won 50.07% of the vote and 71 of the 101 seats in the
February 2001 parliamentary election
; by this time the constitution had been changed to provide for election of the President through the Parliament rather than popular vote.
[9]
In March the PCRM's Central Committee nominated Voronin as its presidential candidate at a plenum,
[10]
and on 4 April 2001 Voronin was elected as President by the Parliament. Of the 89 deputies participating in the vote, 71 voted for Voronin, 15 voted for
Dumitru Braghi?
, and three voted for Valerian Cristea.
[11]
He was sworn in at a ceremony in Chi?in?u on 7 April 2001.
[12]
The
Constitutional Court
ruled that the President could also lead a political party, and Voronin was re-elected as the PCRM's leader.
[9]
Voronin maintained his commitment to the reduction of Moldova's chronic poverty by allocating more resources to
social safety net
items such as health, education, and increasing
pensions
and
salaries
. These measures helped to maintain support for his government, but Moldova still remained the poorest country in Europe throughout his presidency, with around 38% of
GDP
coming from remittances of Moldovans working abroad (2008). Voronin's tenure as President was marked by fluctuating relations with the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the
World Bank
.
From January to April 2002, opposition forces organized large demonstrations in protest against several controversial government proposals, including expanded use of the
Russian language
in schools, and plans for its designation as a second
official language
. While the demonstrations were tense at times, the government did not use force and ultimately agreed to mediation by the
Council of Europe
.
In 2003, Voronin's government backtracked over signing a
Russian
-proposed
federalization
settlement with the breakaway region of
Transnistria
(
Kozak memorandum
).
[
citation needed
]
On the same year, Voronin claimed that "Romania has remained the only empire in Europe, consisting of Moldavia, Dobruja and Transylvania", provoking a diplomatic conflict with Romania and the
President of Romania
Ion Iliescu
.
[13]
[14]
In 2004, Voronin branded the leadership of
Transnistria
"
a transnational criminal group
", and ordered an economic
blockade
of Transnistria after its authorities
closed several Romanian-speaking schools
.
Second mandate
[
edit
]
In the
parliamentary election in March 2005
, the PCRM received 46.1% of the vote and won 56 seats in the 101-member Parliament ? more than enough for the 51-vote minimum required to remain in government, but short of the 61 votes necessary to elect a president. However, President Voronin received the necessary support from the
Christian Democratic People's Party
, the
Democratic
and
Social Liberal
factions, after he promised to deliver on needed reforms and
Euro
-
Atlantic
integration for the country. (The latter two factions broke away from the
Electoral Bloc "Moldova Democrat?"
following the election, leaving the
Our Moldova
Alliance
(AMN) of the former
Mayor of Chi?in?u
Serafim Urechean
as the second-largest party in Parliament, with 26 seats.) In the presidential election held in Parliament on 4 April 2005, Voronin was re-elected with 75 votes; another candidate,
Gheorghe Duca
, received one vote, and two votes were invalid.
[15]
Political agenda during tenure
[
edit
]
The declared main goals of his political agenda were:
- Closer ties with the Russian Federation and "integration in Europe"; solving the
Transnistria conflict
;
EU
cooperation (and membership if possible); strong opposition to
NATO
membership; independence, as opposed to a unification with
Romania
.
[16]
Events of 2009 and resignation
[
edit
]
After the
parliamentary election held on 5 April 2009
, the PCRM won 49.48% of the vote and 60 seats, one seat too few to elect a President. Voronin was elected
Speaker of the Parliament
and retained the Presidency of Moldova with an
interim status
. The police crackdown of the
civil unrest
in April 2009 antagonized the society, and the communists were unable to secure
one additional vote
out of the 41 MPs from the three opposition parties; a snap parliamentary election was necessary.
In the
snap parliamentary election in July 2009
, the PCRM won 44.69% of the vote, which is more votes than any other individual party, and gained 48 seats, but it lost its parliamentary majority to a
coalition of opposition parties
which has 53 seats. However, the opposition also failed to obtain enough seats to elect a President, thereby producing more uncertainty. Voronin announced on 2 September 2009 that he intended to resign, saying that his position as acting President had become "ambiguous and doubtful".
[17]
He resigned on 11 September 2009.
[18]
[19]
The President sent a letter to Parliament confirming his intention to resign.
[20]
Mihai Ghimpu
succeeded Voronin as acting president until a proper President could be elected.
[21]
Post-presidential years
[
edit
]
The pro-Western parliamentary majority on 29 December 2009 blocked Voronin's election to Moldova's permanent delegation at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
in
Strasbourg
.
[22]
In February 2010, Vladimir Voronin and his wife returned the diplomatic passports which they were keeping illegally.
[23]
[24]
According to the last opinion polls carried out in 2019 regarding the most popular politicians of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin is ranked on the seventh position among the top of politicians which enjoyed the highest trust of Moldovans
[25]
[26]
and according to some other polls he is ranked at the eighth position.
[27]
[28]
Political views
[
edit
]
Voronin identifies himself as a
left-wing
politician, he is strongly
conservative
on social issues. He is against
immigration
[29]
and he rejects the building of mosques in Moldova,
[30]
as well as
LGBT rights
.
[31]
His remarks towards the African-born activist
John Onoje
[32]
("They [the ruling parties] brought here a Negro, who'd just climbed down from a tree, and now he's doing politics for them.") are still regarded as controversial.
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
Despite the fact that his grandfather
Isidor Sarbu
emigrated to Romania, Voronin considers Moldovans and Romanians two different ethnic groups. Some of his declarations were considered
anti-Romanian
.
[37]
[38]
[39]
[40]
[41]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Vladimir Voronin is married to
Taisia Mihailovna Voronina
(a
Ukrainian
) and has two children, a son
Oleg
and a daughter Valentina. She works as a kindergarten manager, They were married on 12 October 1962, while he was still working in
Criuleni
.
[42]
He has the
military rank
of
Major General
from the former
USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs
(equivalent of
NATO
OF-6
Brigadier General
?
see
Ranks and insignia of the Soviet military
and
Ranks and insignia of NATO
). Some argue that he also holds Russian citizenship in addition to citizenship of the
Republic of Moldova
, because he used to receive a pension as a former Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs employee, from the time he lived as a private citizen in Moscow in 1991?1993.
[43]
His son,
Oleg Voronin
, is arguably the richest businessman in Moldova. His daughter is a physician, but unlike Oleg not a public figure. On 19 February 2010, Voronin told journalists that the questioning of his son is an attempt of revenge against his family by the current authorities. Oleg is suspected of fiscal evasion and money laundering.
[44]
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Dezvaluiri la Chisinau: Voronin are cetatenie rusa"
(in Romanian). Ziare.com. 11 December 2007.
Archived
from the original on 23 May 2021
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"Formatiune politica declara ca detine probe potrivit carora Vladimir Voronin detine cetatenia rusa"
. 11 December 2007.
Archived
from the original on 23 May 2021
. Retrieved
4 March
2021
.
- ^
(in Russian)
An early publication mentioning this fact was a 2005 article by Gheorghe Budeanu in the Romanian-language weekly
Timpul
, issue 328 (
Russian translation of the article
Archived
12 February 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
).
- ^
(in Romanian)
Ziua, 27 March 2008
Archived
25 May 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
(full article in Romanian)
- ^
"Voronin's secret: ZIUA"
.
Ziua.ro
.
Archived
from the original on 24 January 2017
. Retrieved
27 March
2008
.
- ^
"Скончалась мать президента Молдавии Владимира Воронина"
.
Regnum.ru
.
Archived
from the original on 6 August 2019
. Retrieved
6 August
2019
.
- ^
"
"Transnistreanul Valodia", un om bun dintr-un partid r?u"
. 16 November 2012.
- ^
"The Moldovan Communists: From Leninism to Democracy?"
Archived
2006-03-14 at the
Wayback Machine
by Luke March,
Eurojournal.org
, September 2005.
- ^
a
b
c
Political Parties of the World
(6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 414.
- ^
"Moldovan communists determined to keep links with West",
Kommersant
(nl.newsbank.com), March 7, 2001.
- ^
"Moldovan Communist Party leader elected president",
Basapress news agency
(nl.newsbank.com), April 4, 2001.
- ^
"Moldovan president sworn in", ITAR-TASS news agency (nl.newsbank.com), April 7, 2001.
- ^
"FOCUS: Rela?iile Romania-R. Moldova - cand calde, cand reci, condimentate cu acuza?ii reciproce"
.
Mediafax
(in Romanian). 25 January 2010.
Archived
from the original on 15 May 2021
. Retrieved
15 May
2021
.
- ^
"Lideri antiromani din Republica Moldova"
.
Adev?rul
(in Romanian). 22 September 2015.
Archived
from the original on 14 May 2021
. Retrieved
15 May
2021
.
- ^
"Moldovan parliament re-elects Voronin as president", Moldova One TV (nl.newsbank.com), April 4, 2005.
- ^
Iasi, Ziarul de.
"Ziarul de Iasi - liderul presei iesene - Cms/site/z is"
.
Ziaruldeiasi.ro
.
Archived
from the original on 6 August 2019
. Retrieved
6 August
2019
.
- ^
"Voronin Resigns As Acting Moldovan President"
Archived
4 September 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
, 2 September 2009.
- ^
"Moldovan acting president resigns"
.
Xinhua News Agency
. 11 September 2009. Archived from
the original
on 2 November 2012
. Retrieved
13 September
2009
.
- ^
"Last stop: Moldova's former president resigns"
.
The Sofia Echo
. 11 September 2009.
Archived
from the original on 15 September 2009
. Retrieved
13 September
2009
.
- ^
"Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin resigns"
.
The Star
(Malaysia). 11 September 2009. Archived from
the original
on 5 October 2009
. Retrieved
13 September
2009
.
- ^
"Moldova: Communists to End Rule"
.
The New York Times
. 11 September 2009.
Archived
from the original on 7 December 2021
. Retrieved
13 September
2009
.
- ^
"Moldova's Former President Kicked Out Of PACE Delegation"
.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
. 30 December 2009.
Archived
from the original on 11 February 2015
. Retrieved
10 February
2015
.
- ^
"Voronin couple own illegally over ten diplomatic passports"
.
Azi.md
.
Archived
from the original on 10 February 2015
. Retrieved
10 February
2015
.
- ^
"Vladimir and Taisia Voronin turned in the passports hold illegally"
.
Jurnal.md
.
Archived
from the original on 22 June 2010
. Retrieved
6 August
2019
.
- ^
"SONDAJ // Cate mandate de deputat ar ob?ine PSRM, "ACUM" ?i PD in cricumscrip?ia na?ional?: Partidul ?or, la limit?. Cei mai mul?i responden?i opteaz? pentru vectorul "Pro Moldova"
"
,
Ziarulnational.md/sondaj-cate-mandate-de-deputat-ar-obtine-psrm-acum-si-pd-in-cricumscriptia-nationala-partidul-sor-la-limita/
,
archived
from the original on 13 February 2019
, retrieved
13 February
2019
- ^
"Partidele care ar ajunge in legislativ daca duminica viitoare ar avea loc alegeri parlamentare. Top trei politicieni care se bucura de cea mai mare incredere. Sondaj iData"
,
protv.md
,
archived
from the original on 4 February 2019
, retrieved
13 February
2019
- ^
"Sondaj BOP: Cei mai aprecia?i politicieni din Republica Moldova"
,
UNIMEDIA
, 7 February 2019,
archived
from the original on 10 December 2019
, retrieved
13 February
2019
- ^
"Sondaj: Cine sunt politicienii in care moldovenii au cea mai mare incredere"
,
stiri.md
,
archived
from the original on 14 February 2019
, retrieved
13 February
2019
- ^
"Voronin, ie?ire rasist? ?i xenofob? in direct la TV: Vre?i s? vin? solda?ii NATO aici ?i s? vi se nasc? copii de culoare?"
. adevarul.ro. 16 May 2021.
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
Ticudean, Mircea.
"Conservatives Angered By Moldova's Recognition Of Muslims"
.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
.
Archived
from the original on 10 March 2016
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
"Voronin vrea referendum "anti-homosexuali"
"
.
point.md
(in Russian).
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
"INTERVIU Imaginea jandarmului roman care b?tea in Basarabia, evocat? de Voronin, realitate sau cli?eu bol?evic reinc?lzit pentru campania electoral?? Istoric de la Chi?in?u: Domnul Voronin uit? drama prin care a trecut familia sa persecutat? de bol?evici"
. 19 May 2021.
Archived
from the original on 11 July 2021
. Retrieved
20 October
2021
.
- ^
Alexandrina Manole (20 February 2012).
"John Onoje, b?tut de poli?i?ti ?i insultat de Voronin"
.
Impact
(in Romanian).
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
"Vladimir Voronin, pedepsit! Cum l-a numit pe John Onoje"
. Protv.md.
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"A racist Moldova? | Amnesty's global human rights blog"
. 21 February 2012. Archived from
the original
on 4 November 2013
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"Moldovan Communist politician made racist statements publicly"
. Archived from
the original
on 2 November 2013
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"Voronin: Nu voi fi niciodata roman, Romania - un imperiu"
.
Ziare.com
(in Romanian).
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
"BBCRomanian.com"
.
www.bbc.co.uk
.
Archived
from the original on 10 April 2021
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
AGERPRES.
"Voronin atac? dur Romania intr-o scrisoare trimis? pre?edintelui Parlamentului European"
.
www.agerpres.ro
(in Romanian).
Archived
from the original on 6 October 2021
. Retrieved
6 October
2021
.
- ^
"Vladimir Voronin: Romania mai retrograd? decat Moldova | Romania | DW | 06.03.2007"
.
Deutsche Welle
. 27 November 2021.
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"Voronin cere UE sa ia masuri impotriva Romaniei si a indivizilor scapati de sub control ca Traian Basescu"
. Zf.ro. 24 May 2009.
Archived
from the original on 30 July 2021
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"
"O iubesc mai mult decat in prima zi". Vladimir si Taisia Voronin au implinit 50 de ani de casatorie!"
.
Pro TV
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
15 December
2023
.
- ^
http://old.azi.md/print/47385/En
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Archived copy"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
1 March
2010
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
"Владимир Воронин удостоен самой высокой церковной награды в республике"
. 22 February 2018. Archived from
the original
on 22 February 2018
. Retrieved
7 December
2021
.
- ^
"В ходе Первосвятительского визита в Молдову Предстоятель Русской Церкви совершил малое освящение храма Рождества Пресвятой Богородицы Курковского монастыря / Новости"
.
Patriarchia/ru
.
Archived
from the original on 2 December 2019
. Retrieved
6 August
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Background
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Transnistria War
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Aftermath
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Resolution attempts
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Participants and figures
| Pro-Moldova
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Pro-Transnistria
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Neutral
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See also
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International
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National
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Other
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