Vlad Filat Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova Date of Birth: 05.05.1969 Country: Moldova

Biography of Vlad Filat

Vladimir (Vlad) Filat was born on May 6th, 1969 (according to some sources, May 5th) in the village of Lăpușna, Hîncești District, Moldavian SSR. He graduated from the Lăpușna secondary school in 1986, and according to some information, he then enrolled in a medical institute. From 1986 to 1988 (according to other sources, from May 8th, 1987 to August 15th, 1989), he served in the border troops of the KGB USSR in Sevastopol. Some sources claim that during his military service, from July to August 1989, Filat also underwent training at the KGB Special School in Golitsyno, Moscow Oblast, most likely referring to the Higher Border Military-Political School of the KGB.

In 1989-1990, Filat studied at the Kishinev Cooperative College. In 1990, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in the Romanian city of Iași and graduated in 1994. In 1994, Filat opened a commercial enterprise called RoMold Trading SRL in Iași, initially involved in paper sales, and remained its general director until 1997. As the CEO of RoMold Trading SRL, he signed an "exclusive trading contract" with AO Tutun (Kishinev Tobacco Factory) on October 8th, 1997, for the sale of all tobacco products of the factory in Romania.

From 1997 to 1998, Filat chaired the Administrative Board of the commercial society Dosoftei, which owned a printing house in Iași. According to some information, he continued to lead the Dosoftei company in the 2000s as well. Filat began his political career in 1997, supporting the bloc of President Petru Lucinschi's supporters "For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova," led by Dmitry Dyakov and Ion Chubuk. In 1998, he was appointed as the CEO of the Privatization and State Property Management Department of the Ministry of Economy and Reforms of Moldova in the newly formed government headed by Chubuk. In March 1999, Filat became a state minister in the second government of the bloc "Alliance for Democracy and Reforms" (ADR) headed by Prime Minister Ion Sturza. In this position, he supervised the State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova, which prepared government decision projects and monitored their implementation. He left the position in November 1999.

In 1998-1999, Filat was involved in several scandals related to his state and commercial activities. For example, he was mentioned in connection with the sale of real estate in the center of the Moldovan capital, a deal in which six Tu-154 planes were sold to the Russian AO "Aviazapchast" at a reduced price without competition, and the sale of the Rezina Cement Plant for $200,000 instead of the proposed $15 million. A well-known case was also associated with the cigarette smuggling by Filat's company. On September 12th, 1998, the Romanian police detained four trucks with smuggled cigarettes. The criminal case of smuggling was transferred to the Bucharest Tribunal. It was alleged that Filat had created a criminal network linked to the governmental bodies of Romania and Moldova for the import of contraband cigarettes. However, the case was closed, presumably due to Filat's appointment as a minister.

In April 2000, Filat joined the Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM), which was created after the split of the bloc "For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova" into the group of Chubuk's supporters and Dyakov's and Sturza's allies. Dyakov was elected as the chairman of the DPM, and Filat and Sturza became his deputies. Filat became one of the main sponsors of the DPM's campaign preceding the parliamentary elections in February 2001. However, the DPM's list did not surpass the six percent threshold required to enter the parliament, receiving just over five percent of the votes. In the subsequent parliamentary elections held in March 2005, the DPM participated as part of the bloc "Democratic Moldova," led by Serafim Urechean and Dmitry Braghis. The bloc received 28.4 percent of the votes and 34 parliamentary seats, one of which was occupied by Filat. However, on the first session of the parliament on March 24th, 2005, the DPM deputies announced the creation of their own independent faction, led by Dyakov and Filat. On April 4th, 2005, the DPM faction voted for the election of the communist Vladimir Voronin in the presidential elections held in the parliament, ensuring his victory. In the new parliament, Filat became the vice-chairman of the Commission on National Security, Defense, and Public Order.

In June 2007, Filat also participated in the mayoral elections in Chisinau as a candidate from the DPM. However, he received just over eight percent of the votes in the first round and finished fourth. Dorin Chirtoacă was elected as the mayor of Chisinau after the second round. On September 14th, 2007, it was announced that Filat had left the DPM and resigned from the position of vice-chairman of the Commission on National Security, Defense, and Public Order due to a conflict with Dyakov. In October 2007, Filat founded and became the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (LDPM). In December 2007, he was officially elected as its chairman at the founding congress of the LDPM. As the leader of the LDPM, Filat positioned himself as an anti-Russian and pro-Western politician, one of the most prominent supporters of Moldova's NATO integration. Additionally, in early 2008, Filat initiated a campaign for nationwide presidential elections, aiming to replace the parliament's election of the president. During the pre-election parliamentary campaign in 2009, Filat headed the LDPM's list. In the parliamentary elections held on April 5th, 2009, the Communist Party won a convincing victory, and the LDPM took the third place, receiving 12.2 percent of the votes. After the elections, the opposition accused the government of falsifying the results, and the LDPM applied for permission to hold protest rallies from April 7th to April 22nd. On April 7th, the rallies turned into mass riots, during which the parliament and the presidential administration buildings were seized. Filat actively participated in the opposition's protests, demanding a recount of the election results but later agreed with the government to do everything possible to end the violence. On April 22nd, 2009, the Constitutional Court of Moldova approved the election results, according to which the LDPM received 15 out of 101 parliamentary seats.

Filat's wife, Sanda, is a psychologist. The couple has two children, a son named Luca and a daughter named Justina.