Mircea Snegur Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Mircea Snegur OR
Snegur in 1996

1st President of Moldova
In office 3 September 1990 – 15 January 1997
Prime Minister	Mircea Druc Valeriu Muravschi Andrei Sangheli
Succeeded by	Petru Lucinschi
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office 21 April 1998 – 20 March 2001
Parliamentary group	Democratic Convention
In office 17 April 1990 – 3 September 1990
Constituency	Nisporeni
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of SSR Moldova
In office 27 April 1990 – 3 September 1990
Premier	Petru Pascari Mircea Druc
Preceded by	Ion Cebanu
Succeeded by	Alexandru Moșanu
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR
In office 29 July 1989 – 17 April 1990
Premier	Ivan Calin Petru Pascari
Preceded by	Alexandru Mocanu

Personal details
Born	(1940-01-17)January 17, 1940 Trifănești, Kingdom of Romania (now Moldova)
Died	13 September 2023 (aged 83) Chișinău, Moldova
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	PRCM
Spouse	Georgeta Snegur (m. 1960; died 2019)
Children	2, including Natalia Gherman
Alma mater	State Agrarian University of Moldova
Signature

Mircea Snegur (born January 17, 1940 – died September 13, 2023) was an important politician from Moldova. He was the very first President of Moldova from 1990 to 1997. Before becoming president, he held other important roles. He was the head of state from 1989 to 1990 and also led the country's parliament for a short time in 1990.

Early Life and Education
Professional Career
Political Career (1964-1991)
Presidency (1991-1997)
- Moldova and Romania
- Later Years of Presidency (1995-1997)
Personal Life
Honours and Awards
See also

Early Life and Education

Mircea Snegur was born in a village called Trifănești in Soroca District. His parents were Ion and Ana Snegur. He finished high school in 1957. After that, he went to the Agricultural State University of Moldova. He graduated from there in 1961. Later, in 1972, he earned a special degree in agricultural sciences from the same university.

Professional Career

Mircea Snegur was trained as an agronomist. This means he was an expert in farming and soil management. From 1961 to 1968, he worked as a director at a collective farm in Lunga village. A collective farm was a large farm where many people worked together.

He then became the director of an Experimental Station for Field Cultures from 1968 to 1973. This place studied how to grow crops better. After that, he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture. He was the director of the Main Agricultural Science Directorate from 1973 to 1978. From 1978 to 1981, he was the general director of a research institute that focused on field crops.

Political Career (1964-1991)

Mircea Snegur started his political journey in 1964. He joined the Communist Party of Moldova. From 1981 to 1985, he was a leader in the Communist Party for the Edineț district.

In 1985, he became a Secretary of the main committee of the Communist Party in the Moldavian SSR. The Moldavian SSR was a part of the Soviet Union. He held this role until 1989.

In July 1989, he became the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Moldavia. This was a very important leadership position. He then became the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR in April 1990. In June, the name changed to the Moldovan SSR. Finally, in September 1990, he became the President of the Moldovan SSR.

Presidency (1991-1997)

In May 1991, Mircea Snegur became the president of the Republic of Moldova. At this time, Moldova was still part of the Soviet Union. However, things changed quickly. In August 1991, Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union. On August 27, 1991, Snegur was elected as the first president of Moldova as an independent country. He ran for president without anyone running against him in December 1991.

As president, Snegur took important steps for the new country. On September 3, 1991, he created the National Army of Moldova. In December 1991, Moldova joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This was a group of countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. On March 2, 1992, Moldova also became a member of the United Nations. This is a big international organization that works for peace and cooperation.

In June 1994, Moldova adopted a new Constitution of Moldova. This is the main set of laws for the country. In June 1995, Moldova joined the Council of Europe. This organization works to protect human rights and democracy in Europe.

Moldova and Romania

In February 1991, Mircea Snegur spoke to the Parliament of Romania. He talked about how Moldovans and Romanians shared a common history and culture. He even called people on both sides of the Prut River "Romanians."

However, Snegur did not want Moldova to immediately join with Romania. This caused some disagreement with another political group called the Popular Front of Moldova. Instead, Snegur suggested a plan called "one people, two States." This idea meant that Moldova and Romania would stay as separate countries. But they would work closely together on things like their economies and armies.

Later Years of Presidency (1995-1997)

In 1995, Snegur started a new political party. It was called the Party of Rebirth and Conciliation of Moldova. He ran for president again in the 1996 election as the candidate for this new party. He won the most votes in the first round, but not more than half.

In the second round of the election, another politician named Petru Lucinschi won. He surprised many people by beating Snegur. Mircea Snegur continued to serve as president until January 15, 1997.

Personal Life

In 1960, Mircea Snegur married Georgeta Snegur. She passed away in 2019. They had two children, a daughter named Natalia Gherman and a son. Mircea Snegur passed away on September 13, 2023, at the age of 83. He died from cancer.