Petru Chiril Lucinschi was
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
's second President (1996–2001).
Biography
Petru Chiril Lucinschi (Russian: Пётр Кириллович Лучинский,
Pyotr Kirillovich Luchinsky; Ukrainian: Петро Кирилович Лучинський,
Petro Kyrylovych Luchynsky) was born on January 27, 1940 in
Rădulenii VechiRădulenii Vechi is a commune in Floreşti district, Moldova. It is composed of a single village, Rădulenii Vechi....
village,
Soroca CountySoroca was a county of Moldova. The seat was Soroca....
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(now Floreşti district). He has a
PhDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(1977).
From 1971, Lucinschi was a member of the Executive Committee (
PolitburoPolitburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
) of the
Central CommitteeCentral Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Communist Party in
Moldavian SSRThe Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
. He was the only native
MoldovanMoldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
in the leadership of
Communist Party of MoldovaThe Communist Party of Moldova was one of the fourteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Indeed, the PCM was the republic-level chapter of the CPSU in the Moldavian SSR from 1940 to 1991...
at that time, when the leadership of Moldavian SSR was almost completely in the hands of people from outside the republic or
TransnistriaTransnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
ns.
From 1978 to 1989, he was first secretary of
ChişinăuChișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
branch of the
Communist Party of MoldovaThe Communist Party of Moldova was one of the fourteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Indeed, the PCM was the republic-level chapter of the CPSU in the Moldavian SSR from 1940 to 1991...
. In 1978,
Ivan BodiulIvan Ivanovich Bodiul was a Moldovan SSR politician.- Biography :Ivan Ivanovich Bodiul was born on 3 January 1918, in Alexandrovca, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine...
sent him to work for the
Communist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where Lucinschi remained until 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Lucinschi was second secretary of the
Central CommitteeCentral Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the
Communist Party of TajikistanThe Communist Party of Tajikistan is a political party in Tajikistan.At the last legislative elections, 27 February and 13 March 2005, the party won 13.97% of the popular vote and 4 out of 63 seats....
. Upon his return to
Moldavian SSRThe Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
in 1989, he became first secretary of the
Communist Party of MoldovaThe Communist Party of Moldova was one of the fourteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Indeed, the PCM was the republic-level chapter of the CPSU in the Moldavian SSR from 1940 to 1991...
.
In early 1991, he again left
Moldavian SSRThe Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
and went to
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
where he joined the Central Ruling Body of the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, becoming secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
.
He was
Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament-Moldovan Democratic Republic:-Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic:-Moldavian SSR:The Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR were:-Speakers of Moldovan Parliament:...
(1993-1997).
Lucinschi was elected
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
's second
presidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
in 1996. He served until 2001 when he called a
snap electionA snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...
, and the
ParliamentThe Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is a unicameral assembly with 101 seats. Its members are elected by popular vote every 4 years. The parliament then elects a president, who functions as the head of state...
voted in favour of
Vladimir VoroninVladimir Nicolaevici Voronin is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova since 1994...
.
Lucinschi was married to Antonina ( -2006), a retired schoolteacher, and has two sons, Sergiu and Chiril.