Petru Lucinschi


Petru Lucinschi is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President.

Biography

Petru Lucinschi was born on 27 January 1940 in Rădulenii Vechi village, Soroca County, Kingdom of Romania. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Lucinschi carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage.
From 1971, Lucinschi was a member of the Executive Committee 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.
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, 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