Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
local long form: Republica Moldova
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Chisinau
Administrative divisions:
9 counties (judetele, singular - judetul), 1 municipality*
(municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit** (unitate teritoriala
autonoma), and 1 territorial unit*** (unitate teritoriala); Balti,
Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei,
Soroca, Stinga Nistrului***, Tighina, Ungheni
Independence:
27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 August (1991)
Constitution:
new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet
constitution of 1979
Legal system:
based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of
legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is
unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts
many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) documents
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April
2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since NA 2002),
Deputy Prime Minister Stefan ODAGIU (since NA 2002)
cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of
Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term;
election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note -
presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July
2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's
failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early
parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated
by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - within
15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request
a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work
program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001,
cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001
election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary
votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA
3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of
confidence - 75 of 101
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and
electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis
Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM
71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for
constitutional judicature)
Political parties and leaders:
Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Communist Party or PCM
[Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic
Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Social Democratic Union (composed of
Braghis Alliance and the Democratic Party of Moldova) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU,
OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela Hyde SMITH
embassy: 103 Alexei Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72
FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44
Flag description:
same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue
(hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a
Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons
carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its
right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast
is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox
head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow