Mihai Ghimpu

Mihai Ghimpu ( born November 19, 1951 in Coloniţa, Chişinău, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union ) is a Moldovan politician. He was President of the Parliament of Moldova and as of 11 September 2009 to 28 December 2010 This function also Acting President of the Republic from August 2009.

Training

Mihai Ghimpu studied at the State University of Moldova Law and initially worked thereafter as a lawyer.

Political career

1988 Ghimpu was a founder and later a board member of Frontul Popular din Moldova ( German Popular Front of Moldova), which campaigned for reforms in the Moldavian SSR and carried out mainly by the Romanian-speaking population. From 1990 to 1998 he was a Member of Parliament. In 1998 he was elected Chairman of the Liberal Partidul ( German Liberal Party ). Since 2007 he is member of the city council of Chisinau. From 2007 to 2008 he was president of the city council. On 28 August 2009 Ghimpu was elected in a disputed parliamentary session as the new President of Parliament. The largest parliamentary faction, the Communists had to leave the hall before, and considers the choice Ghimpus because of the circumstances as unconstitutional.

Following the resignation of Vladimir Voronin September 11, 2009 Mihai Ghimpu took over as acting the business of the president.

In June 2010 Ghimpu caused a crisis within the ruling coalition " Alliance for European Integration". Without consultation with the other parties in government he had declared by decree June 28 the "Day of Soviet occupation and Remembrance for the Victims of Communism ". He was then invited by the chairman of the Democratic Party Marian Lupu and other policies of the coalition parties to withdraw the decree. Critics such as former President Vladimir Voronin of the opposition Communists threw Ghimpu ago, he had stated in the now- institutionalized conviction of former affiliation of Moldova to the Soviet Union were, the Moldovan government illegitimate, based yet the independence of the country only on the forced assignment by Romania to the Soviet Union in 1940 and the later following the collapse of the Soviet multinational state.

After the 2010 general election Ghimpu occurred on 30 December from the office of the President of Parliament and thus also the commissioner of the Head of State to the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Marian Lupu.

Positions

Ghimpu describes himself as a Unionist, ie advocates of unification of Romania and Moldova. After his election as Speaker of Parliament, he explained, however, this was just his personal opinion. A union with Romania do not belong to the medium-term goals of his party and that he would therefore not pursue this.

Family

Mihai Ghimpu is the uncle of the mayor of Chisinau and deputy chairman of the Liberal Partidul, Dorin Chirtoacă. Mihai Ghimpus older brother Gheorghe Ghimpu (1937-2000) was a famous Moldovan dissident who campaigned since the 1970s for a detachment of Moldova by the Soviet Union and union with Romania and it temporarily in prison.