Former Moldovan prime minister marks 80th birthday anniversary

Chisinau, 25 July /MOLDPRES/ - The former prime minister, Mircea Druc, who was awarded the Star of Romania order, marks his 80th birthday anniversary today.   

Mircea Druc was born in the Pociumbauti village, northern Rascani district, in a family of peasants. He studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of the Moldovan State University (USM) during 1957-60 and then at the Philology Faculty, Romanian languages section (Spanish language and literature, French and Portuguese languages) of the State University from Leningrad (1960-1964).    

After the graduation of faculty, he worked as reviewer and controller at the Sheremetyevo International Airport from Moscow. Afterwards, Druc trained for his doctor’s degree at the Latin America Institute of the Moscow-based Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1967-1970) with the doctor’s thesis titled, The role of infrastructure transport means) in processes of economic integration of Latin American countries. In 1970, Mircea Druc passed a post-doctoral course titled, The scientific bases of management in the production sphere, at the Faculty of Economy of the M.V. Lomonosov State University from Moscow. In 1970, he returned to the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic (RSSM), where he is appointed as professor of administrative sciences at the Chisinau-based Poly-technical Institute.    

In 1972, the Lenin district committee from Chisinau of the Moldovan Communist Party ruled to exclude Druc from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (PCUS) with the following justification: ‘’for the toleration of nationalist opinions, failure to cease them and loss of vigilance.’’ On this occasion, he was automatically dismissed from the position held at the Poly-technical Institute and appointed as scientific researcher and chief specialist at the Centre of Labour’s Scientific Organization and Production’s Management of Food Industry Ministry of RSSM.   

Druc left for Moscow again in 1975 , where he worked as lecturer at the centre for administrative issues of the L.M. Lomonosov State University and scientific researcher at the section of the Union Institute of Technical and Economic Research and Information in Electrical Engineering Inforemelektro (1975-1977) and then as chief of the research sector of the Mosstroiplastmass Economic Central Office from Moscow and scientific editor at the Central Institute of Technical and Economic Research and Information for the Food Industry of Moscow (1977-1981). Simultaneously, he took evening classes at the Psychology Faculty of the Lomonosov State University from Moscow during 1975-80.

In 1981, Mircea Druc was transferred to Chernivtsi (Ukrainian Soviet Republic) as scientific secretary of the local branch of the Automatics Institute from Kiev. He was then appointed as head of the department of standardization and quality management of the enterprise for producing furniture and wood processing from Chernivtsi (1983-1985) and then translator at the Publishing House for Literature and Art, lecturer at the State University from Chernivtsi and scientific researcher at the State Medicine Institute from Chernivtsi (1985-1989).    

In 1988, he was founder of the Mihai Eminescu Romanian Cultural Society from Chernivtsi, and was elected as its deputy head. In this capacity, Druc contribution to the creation of the first class with subjects’ teaching in Romanian language from Chernivtsi (initially with 16 pupils and in 1991, their number grew to 60).

In 1990, Mircea Druc was elected MP of the People’s Front of Moldova (FPM) in the Supreme Soviet (parliament) of RSSM. On 25 May 1990, Druc was elected prime minister of RSS Moldova by the RSSM Supreme Soviet. In this capacity, he cumulated also the position of member in the Soviet government, by participating in meetings of the Moscow government twice a week.  

The government led by Mircea Druc promoted a comprehensive programme of political, economic and social reforms, which aimed at the separation of RSS Moldova from USSR and reducing RSSM’s dependence on the Moscow-based institutions, in order to achieve the independence of RSSM: he founded the first structures of the National Army, National Police, Troops of Carabineers (according to the Italian model) and of the special intelligence services; he introduced the Romanian language as language in which subjects are taught  at schools, lyceums and universities; he founded the Academy of Economic Studies and the National Police Academy with headquarters in Chisinau; he contributed to the opening of bilingual Romanian-French, Romanian-Spanish, Romanian-English, Romanian-Italian, Romanian-German lyceums; he contributed to the sending of over 3,000 students, candidates for doctor’s degree and pupils to study in Romania; he eliminated the Communist Party from the social life.      

Mircea Druc led governmental delegations to Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Italy, the USA, Yugoslavia and Romania. The tradition of bridges of flowers across the Prut river was inaugurated on the period when he acted as prime minister.  

Mircea Druc refused to start the process of privatization in Moldova, waiting for the adoption of the Law on the National Bank (for the issuance of the national currency) and the Law on citizenship, in order to avoid the sale of assets of the enterprises from RSS Moldova to citizens from other countries.  

Mircea Druc was dismissed from the office of prime minister on 28 May 1991 by President Mircea Snegur, after he had been given a no confidence vote by the parliament of RSSM.   

For the activity carried out, Mircea Druc was awarded the medal, For turning to account of fallow lands from Kazakhstan (1958), Civic Merit Medal (1996), honorary citizens of the cities of Miami (USA) and Busteni (Romania), the title, Political Man of the 1992 Year in Moldova. On 26 March 2014, President of Romania Traian Basescu awarded Mircea Druc the National Order Star of Romanian in grade of Grand Officer.