Moldova Government 2001

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local long form: Republica Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia

Government type: republic

Capital: Chisinau

Administrative divisions: 10 juletule (singular - juletul), 1 municipality*, and 1 autonomous territorial unit**; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Dubasari, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Tighina, Ungheni

Independence: 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 August (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), three Deputy Prime Ministers: Valerian CRISTEA, Andrei CUCU, and Dmitri TODOROGLO (all since 19 April 2001)
cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001; presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections (moved up a year to February 2001); according to the Moldovan constitution, the president, on consulting with Parliament, will designate a candidate for the office of prime minister; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate will request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated on 15 April 2001, cabinet received vote of confidence on 19 April 2001
election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV elected Prime Minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)

Political parties and leaders: Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rudolf Vilem PERINA
embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 2009
mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080
telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72
FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44

Flag description: same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow

NOTE: The information regarding Moldova on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Moldova Government 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Moldova Government 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.