The Moldovan Border Police, also commonly known as the Moldovan Frontier Police, is the official paramilitary

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

of the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

. It is currently a department of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

(MAI) and exercises its powers and policy in the accordance with the ministry. It was originally founded as the Border Guard Troops, and later the Border Guard Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova. It would remain a military branch until a 2012 government reform, putting it under the control of the MAI. The Day of the Border Police is celebrated annually on 10 June.

History

Following the fall of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the newly elected first

President of Moldova The president of the Republic of Moldova () is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020. Duties and functions The president "represents the State" and is "…the guarantor of n ...

Mircea Snegur Mircea Snegur (; 17 January 1940 – 13 September 2023) was a Moldovan agronomist and politician who served as the first President of Moldova from 1990 to 1997. Prior to that, he served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of ...

founded the border police on September 3, 1991. The administration of the border troops was entrusted to the Ministry of National Security of Moldova under the subordination of the entire subunit of the former

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops () were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Directorate, OGPU, then to NKVD/Ministry for State Security (USSR), MGB and, final ...

deployed on Moldovan territory. On January 11, 1992, Colonel Vasile Calmoi was appointed as the first commander of the border troops. In accordance with a government decree which was signed on June 15, 1992, the Moldovan Border Troops became an official separate branch of the armed forces, with the law "On the State Border of the Republic of Moldova", coming into force by November 1994. Border guards day was first celebrated in Moldova on May 27, 1995, as the professional holiday of the Border Guard Troops of Moldova, before later being celebrated annually on June 10, which marks the day that President Snegur handed the flag of the border troops to promoted Brigader General Calmoi. In December 1999, the Moldovan Border Guard was reorganized into the Department of the Border Guard Troops of the

and was withdrawn from the Ministry of National Security a month and a half later. On December 1, 2005, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to the

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(EUBAM) was launched and on July 13, 2006, the EUBAM Territorial Office in Moldova and Ukraine was opened by the Border Guard Service. On January 10, 2007, the border service established the ''National Border Police College'' in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. On July 1, 2012, the Prime Minister

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He also ...

signed a law, which would shift the border service from the armed forces to the internal affairs ministry.

Responsibilities

In the field of border management, the border police's main purpose is to fight against illegal migration and cross-border crime. In order to fulfill these tasks, the border police finds and examines the contraventions, undertakes the judicial expertise of the documents, performs special investigative measures. The border police performs these duties within the boundaries of the Moldovan borders with

, and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The basic principles of which the border police follows include: legality, impartiality, respect for human rights, transparency, personal responsibility, and professionalism. The MAI exercises control and coordinates the activity of the border police as well as elaborates and promotes the state policy of the service. It has signed many agreements with the

Romanian Border Police The Romanian Border Police () is the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for the border security and passport control at border crossing points, airports and ports. Structure Since 2001 multiple restructures and i ...

and the

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine ( SBGSU; , ; ) is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an independent law enforcement agency, organized by the Constitution of Ukraine as a military formation, the head of which is subordinated to the Pres ...

for joint cooperation in the policing of their borders as well as the Transnistrian-

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n border.

Organization

The official structure of the Moldovan Border Police

Organizational structure of the Border Police Department

* Leadership * General Border Control Directorate * General Operations Management Division * Human Resources General Directorate * Prosecution Department * Special Investigation Division * Legal and contraventional practice * Risk Analysis Division * Documentation Directorate * Inspection Directorate * Policy and Assistance Directorate * Directorate for International Cooperation * Logistics and procurement * Management Department * Department of Economics and Finance * Secretariat (with management status) * Internal audit department * Public relations department

Subdivisions subordinated to the Border Police Department

* North Regional Directorate * West Regional Direction * South Regional Directorate * East Regional Directorate * Center Regional Directorate * Border Police Sector

Chișinău International Airport Chișinău International Airport (; ) is Moldova's main international airport, located southeast of the centre of Chișinău, the capital city. It served as headquarters for Air Moldova, the country's national airline. On 18 January 2024, the I ...

* Police Band * Center of Excellence in Border Security

List of General Directors

* Brigadier general Vasile Calmoi (January 11, 1992 – June 6, 2001) * Brigadier general Igor Colenov (June 6, 2001 – December 17, 2009) * Brigadier general Alexei Roibu (December 17, 2009 – April 8, 2011) * Roman Revenco (April 8, 2011 – August 29, 2012) * Dorin Purice (August 29, 2012) * Fredolin Lecari (since September 28, 2016)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Border guards Border guards Paramilitary police Military of Moldova Law enforcement in Moldova Military units and formations established in 1991