Hi and welcome back to Moldova Matters! Today we’re going to dive into the latest updates about the incoming Prime Minister and cabinet. I’ll be back later this week with a full roundup of events.
Who is Alexandru Munteanu?
That turned out to be a very common question in Moldova when ZdG reported on October 14th that the PAS party will put him forward as the next Prime Minister. Munteanu is coming back from the diaspora after having lived outside the country, primarily in Ukraine, for more than 20 years1. He has no recent public profile in Moldova and his proposal is seen as very surprising. We’ll take a look at how we got to this point, who he is and what his candidacy might mean in a moment. First, this is Alexandru Munteanu:
Dorin Recean Retires from Politics
On October 13th, Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced that he would not continue in his role and that he would also not take his seat in the new parliament. He appeared beside Speaker of Parliament Igor Grosu who stated that PAS had proposed to Recean that he continue in post. Prime Minister Recean thanked him for the offer but stated:
“But I had no intention of continuing after my mandate expired. After I give up my seat as an MP, I intend to pursue my professional career in the private sector. This was a transition; I had no intention of pursuing a career in politics,2”
This announcement fueled what was already quite intense speculation as to who the new Prime Minister would be.
Weeks of Speculation…
Since the election results became known, there has been lots of speculation about who would be Moldova’s next Prime Minister. While rumors abounded, they focused primarily on 5 individuals:
Option 1: Prime Minister Recean continues in post.
Option 2: Nicu Popescu, Former Foreign Minister and newly elected MP.
Option 3: Marcel Spatari, Former Minister of Labor and Social Protection and newly elected MP.
Option 4: Vasile Tofan, Senior Partner at Horizon Capital.
Option 5: Diona Nistor, Minister of Economy.
Over the last 2 weeks the rumor mill seemed to coalesce around Prime Minister Recean leaving his post. From my perspective, the most commonly heard name being discussed in this time was Vasile Tofan. After the announcement of Munteanu, Tofan announced that he had been offered the position, but determined that it was impossible for him to step back from his current work at such short notice. He said that no one should entrust:
“the future of Moldova to a leader ready to abandon 22 companies and a team of over 51 thousand people, leaving overnight, without a minimum of transition, after 15 years of work.”
Alexandru Munteanu’s CV
As journalists scrambled to understand who Mr. Munteanu is, Speaker of Parliament Igor Grosu made a statement introducing him saying:
“Alexandru Munteanu is a Moldovan economist, university professor and businessman, known for his investment activity and involvement in international educational and cultural projects. He is the founder of 4i Capital Partners and the president of the French Alliance in the Republic of Moldova.
Because Mr. Munteanu was not a public figure, it is important to know his achievements and professional career. Born on January 20, 1964, in Chisinau, Alexandru Munteanu studied physics at the University of Moldova, after which he worked at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. Later, he joined the Technical University of Moldova, as an associate lecturer in the discipline Theoretical Foundations of Electrotechnics and held the position of vice-dean of the International Faculty.
With the creation of the National Bank of Moldova, Alexandru Munteanu was appointed Head of the Currency Operations Section, and later Deputy Director of the Foreign Relations Department. He taught the subject of Banking and Finance at ULIM. He pursued postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York, specializing in international relations, banking and finance. After graduation, he worked at the World Bank in Washington, DC
Alexandru Munteanu is the founder and president of the French Alliance in the Republic of Moldova, an organization he has led for over three decades. He is also one of the founders of AMCHAM Moldova [the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova].
In 1997, he returned to the Republic of Moldova, becoming Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic Investigations and Reforms [CISR]. Later, he was Director of the representative office of the American Investment Fund WNISEF, as well as a member and/or chairman of the boards of directors of numerous enterprises in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
Since 2007, he has led the Direct Investment Department of Dragon Capital (Ukraine). In 2016, he founded 4i Capital Partners, an investment company operating in Eastern Europe.
He was a member and later co-chair of the Business Council under the Stability Pact (Vienna, Austria), as well as a member and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Pechersk School International [PSI] in Kyiv, an International Baccalaureate [IB] accredited institution.
For his work, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor [Légion d’Honneur] of the French Republic in 2006.
Moldova needs as many well-trained people as possible, with extensive economic experience, to lead the effort for EU accession and economic development. We thank Mr. Munteanu, with an impressive career, for choosing to get involved when the country needs it,”
**Correction:** The original version of this article included the statement: “Alexandru Munteanu is a citizen of Moldova, the United States3 and France.” This was an error as his citizenship status, as with much of his resume, seems unclear. He has self described himself as an “American” and I have updated the article to use this description and remove definitive references to American and French citizenships. I’ll return and update you when we have more information.
In 2018 he ran for a board position on the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Ukraine and described himself as “an American of Moldovan origin, settled in Ukraine for 20 years.” In addition to the studies at Columbia mentioned above, he also has a Masters in Physics from Moscow State University. His actual status as an American citizen4, or other dual citizenships, remains unclear.
Analysis: How did We Get Here?
If we back up and look at the list of 5 speculated candidates listed above plus Alexandru Munteanu, we can see some clear groupings. Namely:
The Security Guy - Dorin Recean. Recall, when former Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita was resigned5 in February 2023 the primary takeaway was a pivot from economic development and COVID recovery to a focus on national security. I wrote about it at the time and Gavrilita spoke about it in her resignation speech. Prime Minister Recean has been seen as a steady hand during the security related crises of the last years.
The Politicians - Nicu Popescu and Marcel Spatari are considered to be 2 of the most talented politicians on the PAS team. They were both very popular as ministers and both have serious credibility inside and outside Moldova (Popescu for getting Moldova into the EU accession process, and Spatari for being one of the critical managers of the refugee crisis).
The Economists and Technocrats - Diona Nistor, Vasile Tofan (and presumably Alexandru Munteanu) are considered to be highly trusted voices on the economy and on issues of reform. None have ever run for political office previously but Tofan and Nistor have experience in prominent civil society positions and are regulars for TV interviews. Diona Nistor’s time as the Minister of Economy has been short, but largely considered to be successful.
With this lens on the field of potential candidates, we can see a pretty clear signal being sent. The change from Dorin Recean to Alexandru Munteanu represents a shift in focus away from national security and towards reform and EU integration. Prime Minister Recean strengthened the security institutions during his tenure and with the success against Russian hybrid attacks in the recent elections, it appears that a judgement has been made to put the focus back on reform of the economy and justice sector.
As to where Alexandru Munteanu came from, we have a few hints. Vasile Tofan has stated that he turned the position down, indicating that the decision to go in an economic direction started with him. Tofan is the successor of Munteanu at Horizon Capital and has since publicly endorsed his selection. Another connection is to Prime Minister Recean, who thanked Munteanu for agreeing to succeed him at the final cabinet meeting of the Recean government today saying:
“With the same gratitude, I want to thank Mr. Alexandru Munteanu for accepting to come and lead the next Government, which has a task no less important. I know Mr. Munteanu from college, he was my professor. In 1991, by the way, he convinced me to go to electrophysics. I wanted to do mechanics. And at one point he says: ‘Dorin, the world is moving from atoms to bits.’”
He went on to say that he is the right man for the job when it comes to the top 3 priorities:
Economic development
Security
Justice Reform
The endorsement of both the current Prime Minister, as well as Mr. Tofan, would likely have held weight with both the PAS party and the President.
Very interesting is the choice not only to forgo “The Politicians,” but to name someone who is essentially unknown and without any political experience. We’ll circle back to this analysis as more reporting comes out and more clarity forms around the formation of the new government.
Transition and Next Steps
Prime Minister Recean held his last cabinet meeting today and thanked the ministers for the work they did in difficult times. The government will technically remain in place in a caretaker capacity until the Constitutional Court (CC) validates the results of the elections. This is expected to occur at the court’s meeting tomorrow, October 16th.
As I explained last week, the validation of the results begins the process of forming parliamentary factions and officially constituting a government. We’ll check in on some updates on the parliamentary side in the Weekly Roundup, but in terms of government we are getting the first glimpses of what might come next.
Government spokesman Daniel Vodă has announced that he would be stepping down, after coming into the position with Prime Minister Recean in 2023. Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan also announced that he will not serve in the next cabinet, stating that he plans to return to filmmaking. Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru waffled on the question, saying only that if she does continue “a short break would be needed to recuperate.”
With so little known about Alexandru Munteanu it’s very hard to predict what his goals will be in forming a cabinet. At the same time, the perennial challenge of finding qualified people who are willing to take positions in the government is likely to be front and center.
We’ll be back soon with more updates on politics, security and concerning new revelations about the Kremlin’e hybrid war against Moldova in the Weekly Roundup.
ZdG has reported him as having lived in Ukraine for the last 20 years. That seems unlikely to be the full story and we’re just now starting to piece together his biography and work history in a concrete way.
His statements have proven controversial with opposition politicians accusing Recean of misleading the public by running for a seat when he never planned to serve. Others have praised him for stepping back - something that many Moldovan political figures (*cough* Voronin) have never managed to figure out.
I’m still thinking through the implications of this startling fact, you can bet I’ll have something to say on the topic down the road.
I’m still thinking through the implications of this startling possibility, you can bet I’ll have something to say on the topic down the road.
Bad grammar but a true sentiment. The former PM was pushed out even if she officially resigned.