Aureliu Ciocoi (; born 5 June 1968 in Chișinău) is a

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

n diplomat who has served as Acting

Prime Minister of Moldova The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parliam ...

between 2020 and 2021, as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

since 9 November 2020. He also served as foreign minister in 2019 and, prior to that, as the ambassador to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, China, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Ciocoi was named acting prime minister on 31 December 2020 after

Ion Chicu Ion Chicu (; born 28 February 1972) is a Moldovan politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 2019 until his resignation in 2020. Biography He was born on 28 February 1972 in the village of Pîrjolteni, located in the Moldovan C ...

, who submitted his resignation a week earlier, refused to stay on in an acting capacity until a new government was formed.

Biography

Aureliu Ciocoi was born on 5 June 1968 in Chișinău. He graduated from the Primary, Secondary and High School No. 11 (today the Lyceum "Ion Creangă"). From 1986 to 1988, he was a soldier in the

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops (russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR) were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the '' Cheka''/OGPU, then to NK ...

of the KGB. Between 1985 and 1992, he studied at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the

Moldova State University The Moldova State University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea de Stat din Moldova'') is a university located in Chișinău, Moldova. History The university was founded on 1 October 1946. Initially, it had 320 students enrolled in 5 faculties, Phy ...

. From 1992 to 1994, he studied at the Faculty of International Relations of the

National University of Political Studies and Public Administration The National School of Political Science and Public Administration ( ro, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative din București, SNSPA) is a public university in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1991. SNSPA is a public institutio ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, Romania. While studying at the university, he worked at the Central Publishing House in Chișinău. After the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, he became a journalist for several daily newspapers. He worked as ambassador to Germany and Denmark from 2010 to 2015, as well as to China and Vietnam from 2015 to 2017. He also briefly served as ambassador to the United States in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, he was an adviser to President Igor Dodon on foreign policy issues. After resigning from the cabinet on 9 November, he was appointed as foreign minister once again. On 31 December 2020, President Maia Sandu appointed him as interim prime minister after Prime Minister Ion Chicu resigned on 23 December.

Personal life

He is married and has one child. He speaks fluent

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

, Russian, English,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. He was a sportsman in the 1980s, being a Master of Sport of the USSR and a member of the Moldovan national junior team in shooting. His hobbies include philosophy, literature, and theater.

Awards

* Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (November 2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciocoi, Aureliu 1968 births Living people Ambassadors of Moldova to China Ambassadors of Moldova to Germany Ambassadors of Moldova to the United States Diplomats from Chișinău Foreign ministers of Moldova Prime Ministers of Moldova Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany