Petru Lucinschi

Petru Lucinschi OR
Lucinschi in 2012
2nd President of Moldova
In office 15 January 1997 – 7 April 2001
Prime Minister	Andrei Sangheli Ion Ciubuc Ion Sturza Dumitru Braghiş
Preceded by	Mircea Snegur
Succeeded by	Vladimir Voronin
President of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 4 February 1993 – 9 January 1997
President	Mircea Snegur
Prime Minister	Andrei Sangheli
Deputy	Dumitru Moțpan Nicolae Andronic Dumitru Diacov
Preceded by	Alexandru Moșanu
Succeeded by	Dumitru Moțpan
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 17 April 1990 – 9 January 1997
Succeeded by	Petru Agachi
Parliamentary group	Democratic Agrarian Party
Constituency	Briceni
1st Moldovan Ambassador to Russia
In office 6 April 1992 – 3 February 1993
President	Mircea Snegur
Prime Minister	Valeriu Muravschi Andrei Sangheli
Succeeded by	Anatol Țăranu
First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party
In office 16 November 1989 – 4 February 1991
Premier	Ivan Calin Petru Pascari Mircea Druc
Preceded by	Semion Grossu
Succeeded by	Grigore Eremei
Personal details
Born	(1940-01-27) 27 January 1940 Rădulenii Vechi, Kingdom of Romania
Citizenship	Moldova Romania
Political party	Agrarian Party of Moldova
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964–1991)
Spouse	Antonina Lucinschi ​ ​ (m. 1965; died 2005)​
Children	Chiril, Sergiu
Alma mater	Moldova State University
Profession	Politician

Petru Lucinschi (pronounced [ˈpetru luˈtʃinski]; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President from 1997 to 2001. He currently serves as the founder and head of the Lucinschi Foundation of Strategic Studies and International Relations.

Early life and education

Petru Lucinschi was born on 27 January 1940 in Rădulenii Vechi village, Soroca County, Kingdom of Romania (now Florești district) into the family of Kirill Vasilievich Lucinschi. Lucinschi carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname Łuczyński, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage. In 1962, he graduated from Chisinau State University. During his studies, he was the secretary of the local Komsomol. From 1963 to 1964, he was engaged in Komsomol work in the Soviet Army. He has a PhD in Philosophy (1977) from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

Career in the Communist Party

In 1964, he was admitted to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 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. His appointment followed the civil unrest on 7 November during the 72nd anniversary celebrations of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

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

Immediate post-Soviet career (1991–1997)

In 1991, 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.

Presidency (1997–2001)

Vladimir Putin and Petru Lucinschi, Chișinău, 17 June 2000.

Lucinschi was elected Moldova's second president in November 1996. Upon his assumption to office, many Western media outlets portrayed him as a Moscow man who remained oriented toward the Soviet past. He was often seen as the lesser evil to Vladimir Voronin from the Party of Communists. Under his leadership, the reforms started by his predecessor Mircea Snegur were continued. It also marked the beginning of Moldova's distance from the nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States and closer relations with the European Union. Over his four years in power, the Lucinschi administration was marked by fierce confrontations in Parliament. He served until 2001, when he called a snap election, and the Parliament voted in favour of Vladimir Voronin.

Foreign policy

Russia and CIS

During his presidency, he advocated for close ties with Russia. He was friendly with Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, as they had worked together in the Soviet government and had been acquainted as leaders of their republics since 1970, when Lucinschi visited Baku.

Post-presidency

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev receiving Lucinschi in Baku in 2014.

Since leaving office, he has continued to meet with his former counterparts, including Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, Estonian president Arnold Rüütel, and Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk. Upon the death of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, he described him as a politician who "paid a lot of attention to the national aspirations of countries of the USSR conglomerate", saying in addition that he "played an essential role for young independent states like Moldova". In 2018, he published his book Pyotr Kirillovich Luchinsky – Member of the Politburo and President, authored by Russian writer Mikhail Lukichev. In early 2019, President Igor Dodon invited Lucinschi together with ex-president Mircea Snegur on a tour of the newly renovated Presidential Palace, which was in need for repairs for over a decade. In 2020, Lucinschi, along with 49 fellow members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center based in Baku, called for international action to tackle new waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he personally assisted Ukrainian families in settlling down in Chisinau.

Personal life

Lucinschi was married to Antonina (d. 2006), a retired schoolteacher, and has two sons, Sergiu and Chiril. Chirill is a businessman and politician who was as member of parliament as well as a professional basketball player.

Awards

Domestic

• Order of the Republic (27 January 2005)
• Order of Ștefan cel Mare, II Degree (Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova, February 9, 2010)
• Om Emerit (28 January 2015)

Soviet

• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (twice)
• Order of Friendship of Peoples

Foreign

• 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)
• Medal "Bethlehem 2000" (Palestinian National Authority, 2000)
• Order "Star of Romania" (Romania, 2000)
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (Russia, 6 September 1997)
• Honorary Citizen of the City of Astana