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 The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (, PLDM) is a conservative political party in Moldova. The party is led by Tudor Deliu. Until 2016, PLDM was led by Vlad Filat, who was Prime Minister of Moldova from 2009 to 2013, in two cabinets. Immedi ...

. He was

Prime Minister of Moldova The prime minister of 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 of Moldova, cabinet, subject to Parliament of Moldova, p ...

from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He also was appointed as the

interim president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, resignation or removal ...

of Moldova for a brief period of time in 2010. Following his conviction on charges of accepting bribes, Filat was released from jail in December 2019, 6 years earlier than his initial sentence.

Education and early career

Vlad is the second child of Maria and Vasile Filat and was born on May 6, 1969, in Lăpușna, a commune in the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

. Alongside his two sisters (Ala and Valentina) and brother Ion, Vlad grew up in a part of Lăpușna called "Talcioc". In 1986, he graduated from high school in his hometown. Between 1986 and 1987, he worked at the school radio station until he was called up for military service. He carried out his compulsory military service in the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

(May 8, 1987 – August 15, 1989), in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. He served in the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

's Border Troops, holding the rank of private first class and being decorated by his KGB superiors. From 1989 to 1990, he studied at the Cooperation College (''Kooperativny technikum'') of

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 ...

, going on to study law at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

(1990–1994). As a student, he was the leader of the "League of students from Bessarabia in Romania", an organization formed by Moldovan students in

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 ...

. In

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, among his classmates was Alexandru Tănase. While he was a student in Iași, he met his wife Sanda in the autumn of 1991; they dated for only three months before they married. Between 1994 and 1998, Vlad Filat initiated and conducted more business in Romania. He was general director of "RoMold Trading SRL" in Iași (1994–1997) and the president of the Administrative Council of "Dosoftei" company in Iași (1997–1998).

Early political activity

Filat was a member of the

Democratic Party of Moldova The European Social Democratic Party (, PSDE) is a centre-left, populist Social democracy, social democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of the Party of European ...

(PDM) from 1997, when the party was founded, until 2007. Having returned to

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. ...

for good in 1998, he was appointed general director of the Department of Privatization and State Property Administration from the Ministry of Economy and Reform of the Government of the Republic of Moldova (1998–1999). He was a State minister in the Ion Sturza cabinet of Alliance for Democracy and Reforms from 12 March 1999, to 12 November 1999. In 2000, Filat was elected vice-president of the Democratic Party (PDM). In the 2005 parliamentary election, he became a member of the

Moldovan Parliament The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period or legislature of ...

. Until March 2009, he was vice-president of the Parliamentary Commission for Security, Public Order, and Defense. He was also a member of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. He ran for Mayor of Chișinău in the 2007 local election and won 8.32% of the vote, in fourth place. Soon after the local election, in September 2007, he left the Democratic Party after ten years of political activity inside the party. Filat has been the president of the

since December 2007.

Moldovan parliamentary election, 2009

In the April 2009 parliamentary election, his party won 15 seats and in the July 2009 parliamentary election PLDM became the second party in the country with 18 seats and the first party within the

Alliance For European Integration The Alliance for European Integration () was a centre-right, anti-communist coalition that governed Moldova from the July 2009 election until it lost to a no confidence vote in the Parliament on February 13, 2013. It was succeeded by the anti-co ...

(AIE).

Alliance for European Integration

After the July 2009 parliamentary election, alongside

Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951) is a Moldovan politician who served as Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, President of the Moldovan Parliament and President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), Acting President of Moldova from 2 ...

, Marian Lupu, and

Serafim Urechean Serafim Urechean (born 2 February 1950) 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 ...

, Vlad Filat signed the

(AIE) in a press-conference on August 8, 2009. Towards the end of August 2009, he became the candidate of the Alliance For European Integration (AIE) for the position of

Prime minister

The

Constitutional Court of Moldova The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova () represents the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, autonomous and independent from the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The task of the ...

confirmed earlier on September 17, 2009 the legitimacy of

's position as

Acting 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 ...

, which gave him the right to nominate a prime minister. On the same day, Ghimpu signed a decree nominating Filat for the office of prime minister. Earlier on September 17, the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

approved a new government structure; according to the draft structure, the number of ministries remains unchanged at 16 but their names and responsibilities have been changed. The Alliance for European Integration gave a vote of confidence to the new government headed by PM Vladimir Filat at a plenary meeting on September 25, 2009. On March 8, 2013 Filat was dismissed by motion of censure following charges of corruption, abuse of power and influence peddling. In spite of this, President

Nicolae Timofti Nicolae Timofti (; born 22 December 1948) is a Moldovan jurist and politician who was President of Moldova from 23 March 2012 until 23 December 2016. He served as head of Moldova's Superior Magistrate Council and was 2011–2012 Moldovan preside ...

decreed that members of the government should continue to exert their public duties until a new government were to be formed. Subsequently, on April 10, 2013 the President nominated Vlad Filat as a candidate for prime minister, authorizing him with the mission of forming a new government. However, on April 22, 2013, the Constitutional Court ruled that this decree is unconstitutional, stating that a prime minister ousted by vote of no confidence following suspicions of corruption cannot further perform this duty and that the president has the constitutional obligation to appoint in the interim capacity a member of the government whose integrity was not affected. The president appointed

Iurie Leancă Iurie Leancă (; born 20 October 1963) is a Moldovan politician who was the Prime Minister of Moldova, prime minister of Moldova from 2013 until 2015. He was Foreign Minister of Moldova, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from 20 ...

as acting prime minister on April 25, 2013.

Arrest and accusations of corruption

Filat was stripped of his immunity and handcuffed in parliament on October 15, 2015. He was investigated for the 2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal and accused of having taken bribes of about $250 million from Ilan Shor, who was chairman of the board at Savings Bank from April to November 28, 2014. Filat has denied wrongdoing and said the allegations against him are politically motivated. On June 27, 2016, Vlad Filat was sentenced to 9 years in prison. In February 2019, Filat's son was ordered to pay nearly half a million pounds after an investigation by the UK

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...

found that he had paid £390,000 up front for a lavish apartment in the

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and £200,000 for a

Bentley Bentayga The Bentley Bentayga is a luxury SUV produced by British marque Bentley Motors. Introduced in late 2015, it is the brand's first luxury SUV, luxury crossover SUV. Its body is manufactured at the Volkswagen Zwickau-Mosel Plant in Germany, then p ...

. With no registered income in the UK, three bank accounts belonging to his son were frozen under

Criminal Finances Act 2017 The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (c. 22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to expand the provisions for confiscating funds to deal with terrorist property and proceeds of tax evasion. The ...

Honours

* – Order of the Republic (December 2013) * – Grand Cross of the National Order of Faithful Service (25 November 2014) * – Order of Excellence (November 2013)

Personal life

Filat divorced Sanda Filat in August 2012, a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

. They have two children. In January 2014, Vlad Filat married former Pro TV Chișinău presenter Angela Gonța.Vlad Filat și Angela Gonța s-au cununat
/ref> In June 2014Angela Gonța a NĂSCUT
ziarulnational.md Vlad Filat and Angela Gonța became parents with birth of their daughter.

Gallery

File:Filat and Van Rompuy.jpg, Filat and Herman Van Rompuy File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Summit September 2010 (69).jpg,

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

and Filat File:EPP Summit March 2011 (63).jpg,

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

and Filat File:EPP Summit March 2011 Tymoshenko.jpg, Filat and

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

File:Filat and Barroso.jpg, Filat and

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Summit September 2010 (27).jpg, Filat and Mart Laar File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP summit 494.jpg,

Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...

Nikola Gruevski Nikola Gruevski (, pronounced ; born 31 August 1970) is a former Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Macedonian protests, ...

and Filat File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - varia 022.jpg,

Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish, Christian People ...

and Filat File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Summit September 2010 (23).jpg, Filat and

Valdis Dombrovskis Valdis Dombrovskis (; born 5 August 1971) is a Latvian politician serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People since 2019 and European Commissioner for Trade since 2020. He previously serv ...

File:2nd EPP EaP Summit (8235465148).jpg, Filat and

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

File:EPP Congress Marseille 5952 (6472494933).jpg, Filat at the EPP Congress Marseille (2011) File:EPP Summit, 14 Mar. 2013 (8556356321).jpg, Filat at the EPP Summit (2013)

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Filat, Vlad 1969 births Living people Acting presidents of Moldova Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Cooperation College of Chișinău alumni Democratic Party of Moldova MPs Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova MPs Moldovan businesspeople Moldovan jurists Moldovan MPs 2005–2009 Moldovan MPs 2009 Moldovan MPs 2009–2010 Moldovan MPs 2010–2014 Moldovan MPs 2014–2019 People from Hîncești District Prime ministers of Moldova Heads of government who were later imprisoned Soviet Army personnel Romanian people of Moldovan descent