Serafim Urechean

Serafim Urechean (born 2 February 1950 in Larga village, Briceni rayon) is a Moldovan politician. He held the position of general mayor of Chișinău municipality (1994–2005) and interim prime minister of the Republic of Moldova (5 – 17 February 1999). He was the chairman of the party Our Moldova Alliance (2003–2011), first deputy chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (2009–2010) and president of the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (2011–2016).[1][2]

Serafim Urechean
Chairman of the Court of Accounts of Moldova
In office 21 April 2011 – 28 July 2016
Preceded by	Ala Popescu
Succeeded by	Veaceslav Untilă
First Deputy Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 28 August 2009 – 28 November 2010
President	Mihai Ghimpu (Acting)
Prime Minister	Zinaida Greceanîi Vladimir Filat
Preceded by	Vladimir Țurcan
Succeeded by	Vladimir Plahotniuc
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 6 March 2005 – 28 November 2010
In office 3 September 1990 – 4 February 1994
Mayor of Chișinău
In office 9 August 1994 – 9 August 2005
Preceded by	Nicolae Costin
Succeeded by	Vasile Ursu (Acting)
Prime Minister of Moldova Acting
In office 5 February 1999 – 19 February 1999
President	Petru Lucinschi
Preceded by	Ion Ciubuc
Succeeded by	Ion Sturza
Personal details
Born	2 February 1950 Larga, Moldova
Citizenship	Moldova  Romania
Political party	Party Alliance Our Moldova (2003–2011) Alliance for European Integration (2009–2010) Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (2011–present)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party (Before 1991) Alliance for Democracy and Reforms (1998–2001) Independents' Alliance (2001–2003)
Spouse(s)	Tatiana Marcenco
Profession	Construction engineer

Biography

Urechean was born on February 2, 1950 at Larga, Briceni, in the Moldovan SSR, in a peasant's family.

Education and career

After graduation of the Middle School in his native village, he continued his education at the Polytechnic Institute in Chișinău, at the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering (1969–1974), which he graduated from in 1974, obtaining the qualification of construction engineer. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

In the same year, the compulsory military service began in the Soviet army, during which, for two years, he participated, directly, in the construction of the famous car plant in Tolyatti, Russia (1974–1976).

After demobilization, in 1976, he continued his professional activity in the native district – Briceni as an engineer within the Constructions Enterprise Briceni (1976–1978). In this capacity, he works on the construction sites of the Briceni district. He led construction works on several social-economic sites.

In 1978 he was co-opted within the political structures of Briceni district. He held the position of Head of Department for Industrial and Constructions Development, Second Secretary of the District Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova in Briceni (1978–1983).

In 1983–1985, he studied at the Higher Party School of Leningrad, Russia. Returning to the Republic of Moldova, he worked at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova. He holds, for a short time, the position of inspector and, in the same year, he was transferred as the second secretary at the district committee Anenii Noi of the CPM. In November 1985 he was elected as Chairman of the District Executive Committee of the Anenii Noi by the People's Deputies (1985–1987).

He then worked for the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of the Republic of Moldova (1987–1994), first as vice president, then as first vice president and finally as president. In parallel, for a period, he was an MP at the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (1991–1994). In parallel, for a period, he was an MP at the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (1991–1994). He led the faction of independent MPs.

On August 9, 1994, by decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova, he was appointed as General Mayor of Chișinău Municipality. He was re-elected successively as mayor in the 1999 and 2003. He holds the position of mayor of Chișinău between 1994 and 2005. Since May 23, 1999, the position was called differently as a general mayor.

He is a titular member of the Congress of Local and Regional Powers of the Council of Europe, president of the Federation of Local and Regional Powers of the Republic of Moldova (since 1996). He was president of the Chess Federation of the Republic of Moldova between 1995 and 2005. The president of the Moldavian branch of the International Academy of Engineering.

As mayor of Chișinău municipality he directly supported and contributed to the organization of several international forums and conferences in Chișinău under the auspice of UN, UNESCO, NATO, TACIS, etc. He is also co-author of the monograph on Scientific and Technological Achievements Related to the Development of European Cities, NATO. ASI Series. Vol. 9.

On February 5 and 17, 1999, he held the position of interim prime minister of the Republic of Moldova. President Petru Lucinschi delegated him as a candidate for the position of prime minister, but he did not get the support of the parliament, he withdrew his candidacy.

On December 21, 1999, by the Decree no. 1263 (art. 3) of the President of the Republic of Moldova, Petru Lucinschi, was declared that Serafim Urechean, in his capacity as general mayor of Chișinău municipality, would become a member of the ex officio Government. He held the position of member of the government by the time of adoption of the Law no. 806-XV of February 5, 2002 for amending and completing the Statute of Chișinău municipality, when he was suspended of being a member of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.

Serafim Urechean was very proactive in the political life. In 2001 he became the President of the Social-Political Movement Independents' Alliance of Moldova, in 2003 he became the co-president of the Party Our Moldova Alliance (in 2005 – 2011 he became the president), and in 2004 – 2005 he was the leader of the Electoral Bloc Democratic Moldova.

At the parliamentary elections of March 6, 2005, Electoral Bloc Democratic Moldova, led by the Chișinău mayor Serafim Urechean, accumulated 28.53% of the votes of the participants and got 34 mandates out of 101. In accordance with article 70 of the Constitution of Moldova, "the MP position is not compliant with the any other remunerated function, except the didactic and scientific activity". On April 18, 2005, in the last day of the one-month term given for the validation of the mandate, provided to decide whether to accept or reject the position for which was elected, Serafim Urechean decided to resign as mayor of Chișinău in favour of the deputy in the Parliament of the Republic Moldova.

On April 21, 2011, he was appointed for the position of the chairman of the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova.

At the local elections in Chișinău held in 2015, Serafim Urechean was a candidate for the position of mayor from the part of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. However, when he appeared on the talk shows during the election campaign, Urechean has stated: "I am not a member of any party, nor of the LDPM. By definition I cannot be, because I am going to chair an apolitical structure. If I become a mayor, I will remain apolitical. I am not going to join any party; I will be mayor of all the citizens of the Chișinău."[3] During two months of election campaign he resigned from the position of the chairman of the Court of Accounts. Following the elections on June 14, 2015, Serafim Urechean has got only 2.97% of the vote.

Alliance For European Integration

After the July 2009 parliamentary election, alongside Vlad Filat, Mihai Ghimpu, and Marian Lupu, Serafim Urechean signed the Alliance For European Integration in a press conference on August 8, 2009.[4]

Personal life

He is married to Tatiana Marcenco[5][6] and has two children.

Distinctions

He is decorated with the Order of the Republic of Moldova (2000), [4] the Order "Shield of Honor", the Order "For the development of science and education", the Orders "Saint Dumitru" of the second grade, "Sergii Radonezhsky" and "Saint Stanislav", granted by the Russian Orthodox Church by the Russian Patriarch, Patriarch Alexy II.

In April 2015 he was awarded the honorary title of "Emeritus".[7]

External links

• Alianţa Moldova Noastră
• Serafim URECHEAN

References

1. "Serafim Urechean (PLDM) / Elections 2015", E-democracy.md/en/elections/chisinau/2015/serafim-urechean/, retrieved March 6, 2020
2. "Istoric", Ccrm.md/istoric-1-28, retrieved March 6, 2020
3. "(video) Urechean: Nu sunt afiliat politic, nu vreau şi nici nu voi fi…", archive.ph, June 2, 2015, archived from the original on June 2, 2015, retrieved March 6, 2020
4. "Moldova: A Corner of Potential in Europe". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
5. "Cu ce se ocupă soţiile politicienilor – TRIBUNA.MD", archive.ph, June 17, 2015, archived from the original on June 17, 2015, retrieved March 6, 2020
6. "(galerie foto) La vot cu jumătățile. Cum s-au afișat candidații la fo…", archive.ph, June 17, 2015, archived from the original on June 17, 2015, retrieved March 6, 2020
7. "Președintele Nicolae Timofti a acordat distincții de stat unui grup d…", archive.ph, June 20, 2015, archived from the original on June 20, 2015, retrieved March 6, 2020