Irina Vlah

Irina Vlah (Gagauz: İrina Vlah; born 26 February 1974) is a Moldovan politician, who served as Head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia since 2015 to 2023. Previously, she served as member of the Moldovan Parliament from 2005 to 2015.[1][2]

Irina Vlah
İrina Vlah
Vlah in 2021
Governor of Gagauzia
In office
15 April 2015 – 19 July 2023
Preceded byMihail Formuzal
Succeeded byEvghenia Guțul
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office
17 March 2005 – 30 April 2015
Succeeded byInna Șupac
Personal details
Born (1974-02-26) 26 February 1974
Comrat, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Gagauzia, Moldova)
Political partyParty of Socialists
Other political
affiliations		Party of Communists (2005-2015; parliamentary grouping)
Alma materComrat State University
Academy of Sciences of Moldova

The first woman to lead her region, Vlah has been ranked on opinion polls as one of the most trusted Moldovan politicians.[3][4] She is a member of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists.

Early life

Irina Vlah was born on 26 February 1974 in Comrat into family of state employees. She is of mixed Gagauz and Bulgarian descent.

From 1991 to 1996 she studied at the Comrat State University at the Faculty of Law. From 2001 to 2008 she was a doctoral student at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and defended her PhD thesis on the topic "The modern concept of the development of the civil service in the Republic of Moldova".

Career

Vlah became a lawyer in 1996, working at the tax inspectorate.

Between 2003 and 2005, she headed the legal department of the Executive Committee of Gagauzia.

Vlah successfully ran for the Moldovan Parliament in 2005. Five years later, she was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova

In 2015, Vlah ran to become Head of Gagauzia. On 22 March, she was declared the winner of the election in the first round, gaining an absolute majority of the votes. She took her oath of office on 15 April, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Molodan President Nicolae Timofti appointed Vlah as an ex-officio member of the nation's cabinet and granted her a seat on the Supreme Security Council.[5]

In 2019, she was re-elected as Head of Gagauzia in a landslide, achieving the largest win in the region's modern history.

On 4 March 2021, Vlah was removed from the Supreme Security Council amidst a reshuffle.[6]

Honours and accolades

References
  1. Vitalie Călugăreanu (23 March 2015). "Irina Vlah este noul bașcan al "Gagauz-Yeri": "Sunt gata să-i propun stabilitate Chișinăului!"". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  2. I. C. (23 March 2015). "Candidatul susținut fățiș de Rusia, Irina Vlah, a câștigat alegerile din Găgăuzia". HotNews. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  3. "Partidele care ar ajunge in legislativ daca duminica viitoare ar avea loc alegeri parlamentare. Top trei politicieni care se bucura de cea mai mare incredere. Sondaj iData", protv.md, retrieved February 18, 2019
  4. "Sondaj: Cine sunt politicienii în care moldovenii au cea mai mare încredere", stiri.md, retrieved February 18, 2019
  5. https://www.presedinte.md/eng/presa/guvernatorul-uta-gagauzia-irina-vlaha-depus-juramntul-in-calitate-de-membru-al-guvernului. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Башкан Гагаузии исключена из состава Высшего совета безопасности". noi.md (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  7. "Патриарх Московский и Всея Руси удостоил башкана юбилейной медали Русской Православной церкви". Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  8. https://www.legis.md/cautare/getResults?doc_id=112840&lang=ru. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. "Bashkan of Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia awarded with Friend of Azerbaijan Golden Order". azertac. 25 September 2019.
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