Nicolae Timofti

Nicolae Timofti
President of Moldova
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2012
Prime Minister	Vlad Filat Iurie Leancă Chiril Gaburici Natalia Gherman (Acting) Valeriu Streleț Gheorghe Brega (Acting) Pavel Filip
Preceded by	Marian Lupu (Acting)
Personal details
Born	22 December 1948 Ciutulești, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Margareta Timofti
Children	3 sons
Alma mater	Moldova State University

Nicolae Timofti (Romanian pronunciation: [nikoˈla.e tiˈmofti]; born 22 December 1948) is a Moldovan politician and jurist who has been President of Moldova since 23 March 2012. He served as head of Moldova's Supreme Magistrate Council and was elected President by parliament on 16 March 2012.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Timofti was born to Elena (born 1927) and Vasile Timofti in Ciutulești, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union,^[3] and has four siblings. At the beginning of 1949, his family moved to Florești. On 6 July 1949, his paternal grandfather Tudor Timofti was deported by Soviet authorities to the Amur region, where he died in 1953.^[4] Timofti graduated from the law school of Moldova State University in 1972.^[5]

Early activity

After graduation, Timofti spent two years in the Soviet Army before beginning his career as a judge in 1976. "He is a person who was with us when we started reforms in the 1990s," Mihai Ghimpu said.^[5] In 2005, Timofti was appointed to the Higher Judicial Chamber and, in 2011, he was named chairman of the Supreme Council of Magistrates.^[5]

President of Moldova

After his election by parliament, Timofti identified Moldova's European orientation as a priority, as it had been the country's policy during the previous years; he stated that this policy "must continue"^[6] and that his country "has no other future than a European future".^[5] Former acting president and speaker of the Parliament of Moldova Mihai Ghimpu called Timofti "...a progressive man, [which] means a lot for the Republic of Moldova."^[5]

Domestic policy and law promulgation case

On 22 May 2012, Timofti promulgated the Law on amending and supplementing Law 100 on civil status, as a result of this law, citizens of Moldova have to indicate the identity Romanian nationality if they self-identify Romanian.

In May 2013, Timofti promulgated three laws, adopted by Communist Party (PCRM) and Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), laws considered to be detrimental for the rule of law in Moldova. He was threatened with the dismissal as president, but he remained in office, as the laws were invalidated by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova.

Timofti issued three decrees for designating Vlad Filat as Prime Minister of Moldova and to dismiss the minister of Transports, Anatol Șalaru. On 21 May 2013, Constitutional Court invalidated the decrees.

Personal life

Timofti is married to the lawyer Margareta Timofti and they have three sons: Alexei (born 1977) works as a lawyer for the World Bank in Washington, Nicu (born 1980) is a sports journalist in Chișinău, and Ștefan (born 1989) studies economics in Chișinău.^[5]

References

1. UNIMEDIA (16 March 2012). "Live text de la alegerea președintelui Republicii Moldova". Unimedia (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 March 2012.
2. Paul Ciocoiu (16 March 2012). "Cine e Nicolae Timofti, noul președinte al Republicii Moldova?". EVZ (in Romanian). Retrieved 16 March 2012.
3. "Criza din R. Moldova s-ar putea încheia vineri cu alegerea lui Nicolae Timofti la preşedinţie". Mediafax (in Romanian). 15 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
4. "Nicolae Timofti a fost votat Presidente al R. Moldova". Timpul. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
5. "Profile: Who Is Moldova's New President-Elect?". Radio Free Europe. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
6. Washington Post, Moldova elects pro-European judge Timofti as president, ending 3 years of political deadlock

External links

• Profile: Who Is Moldova's New President-Elect?
• News in Moldova about Nicolae Timofti