Igor Dodon
Biography of Igor Dodon
Date of Birth: February 18, 1975
Igor Nikolayevich Dodon - former President of the Republic of Moldova (2016-2019). He is the chairman of the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova and was a member of the Moldovan Parliament (2009-2016). Between 2006 and 2009, he headed the Ministry of Economy and Trade of Moldova, and between 2008 and 2009, he served as First Deputy Prime Minister. From 2011 to 2016, he was the chairman of the Socialist Party.
Place of Birth. Education. Born on February 18, 1975, in the village of Sadova in the Calarasi District of the Moldavian SSR. He holds three higher education degrees. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the State Agricultural University, the Faculty of Management at the Moldovan Academy of Economic Sciences, and the Faculty of Economic Law from the International Institute of Management. Doctor of Economics.
After completing his studies, he held positions from 1997 to 2001 as a senior specialist in the Clearing and Listing Department, Administrator of the electronic trading system, and Director of the Marketing, Listing and Quotation Department of the Moldova Stock Exchange.
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Career. From 2001 to 2005, he was the chairman of the National Securities Central Depository of Moldova. From 2003 to 2005, he worked as the chairman of the Universal Commodity Exchange of Moldova.
From 1997 to 2005, he also worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Academy of Economic Sciences of Moldova, the International Independent Institute of Moldova, the International Institute of Management, and the State University of Moldova.
Since September 24, 2011, he has been the president of the Chess Federation of Moldova.
Political Career. From May 2005 to September 2006, he was Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade. By decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, No. 764 - IV of September 18, 2006, he was appointed Minister of Economy and Trade. On March 31, 2008, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Trade by decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova, No. 1592 - IV.
In 2009, he was elected as a deputy from the PCRM, both after the elections on April 5 and the early elections on July 29. On September 14, 2009, he resigned from the government of Zinaida Greceanii along with other PCRM deputies, as the role of deputy and minister is incompatible under the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. In the 2010 parliamentary elections, Dodon was reelected as a deputy of the parliament according to the PCRM list and was a member of the parliamentary committee on Economy, Budget, and Finance.
He was the PCRM candidate in the mayoral elections in Chișinău, which took place in June 2011. According to the results, Dodon received 48.07% of the votes in the first round and 49.40% in the second round, losing to Dorin Chirtoacă.
On November 4, 2011, he, along with deputies from the Communist Party faction, left the Communist Party faction in parliament and the PCRM itself. On November 9, 2011, he announced his joining the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova.
On November 18, 2011, together with Zinaida Greceanii and Veronika Abramciuc, he announced the establishment of a socialist group in the Moldovan Parliament.
In October 2016, he won the presidential elections with 48% in the first round. The runoff took place on November 13, 2016. Dodon's opponent was Maia Sandu, who received 38% of the votes in the first round. In the runoff, Igor Dodon won the elections and was elected President of the Republic of Moldova.
In November 2020, he placed second in the first round of presidential elections with 32.61% of the votes, while Maia Sandu came in first with 36.16% of the votes. According to the results of the runoff held on November 15, Maia Sandu achieved a clear victory over the incumbent president Igor Dodon.
Political Position. Igor Dodon leans towards a pro-Russian position. He advocates for the country's rapprochement with Russia and against integration into NATO. During a television debate on October 30, 2016, he stated that Crimea belonged to Russia. In response to these statements, the Moldovan Foreign Minister apologized. The Ukrainian Ambassador in Chișinău, who was invited for consultations in Kyiv due to the scandal, insisted not to speculate further on the Crimea issue. Dodon later clarified that he only meant under whose authority the peninsula actually was.
After his election in January 2017, he stated that he intended to repeal the agreement for the opening of a NATO liaison office in Chișinău. He communicated this in an interview with the RT television channel. It was also questioned whether Moldova would ever become a full member of the EU while under Moscow's leadership, it could become an observer in the Eurasian Economic Area. The support for such parliamentary initiatives was announced after subsequent transfers of the head of state by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova and statements from the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament.
On October 20, 2016, Igor Dodon relinquished the powers of the President of the Republic of Moldova.