1. Maia Sandu is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity and was prime minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 until 14 November 2019, when her government collapsed after a vote of no-confidence.
56 Facts About Maia Sandu
1. 2.
Maia Sandu was minister of education from 2012 to 2015 and member of the parliament of Moldova from 2014 to 2015, and again in 2019.
3.
Maia Sandu was elected president of Moldova in a landslide victory during the 2020 Moldovan presidential election.
4.
The first female president of Moldova, Maia Sandu is a strong supporter of the accession of Moldova to the European Union, overseeing Moldova's granting of candidate status, and is widely considered "pro-Western".
5.
Maia Sandu has criticised and opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported subsequent steps to reduce Moldova's economic dependence on Russia, frequently expressing sympathy and support for Ukraine in the conflict.
6.
Maia Sandu has made anti-corruption, economic reform and liberalisation a central part of her political platform, as well as closer integration with Europe.
7.
Maia Sandu was re-elected president in the 2024 Moldovan presidential election.
8.
Maia Sandu was born on 24 May 1972 in the commune of Risipeni, located in the Falesti District in the Moldavian SSR of what was then the USSR.
9.
Maia Sandu's parents were Grigorie and Emilia Sandu, a doctor and a teacher, respectively.
10.
Maia Sandu's father died before she became involved in politics.
11.
From 2010 to 2012, Maia Sandu worked as an adviser to the executive director at the World Bank.
12.
From 2012 to 2015, Maia Sandu served as Minister of Education of Moldova.
13.
Maia Sandu was considered on 23 July 2015 by the Liberal Democratic Party as a nominee to be the next prime minister of Moldova, succeeding Natalia Gherman and Chiril Gaburici.
14.
In 2016, Maia Sandu was the pro-European candidate in the Moldovan presidential election.
15.
Maia Sandu was selected as the joint candidate of the pro-European PPDA and PAS parties for president of Moldova in the 2016 election.
16.
Maia Sandu faced open discrimination during the race for being a single woman, and was openly attacked by former Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin who accused her of betraying "family values" and called her the "laughingstock, the sin and the national disgrace of Moldova" in remarks widely regarded as profoundly misogynistic.
17.
In September 2016, Maia Sandu instituted proceedings against the State Chancellery, asking to see the minutes of the Cabinet meeting at which the state guarantees for the three bankrupt banks had been approved.
18.
Maia Sandu's statements were sharply criticized by the Jewish Community of Moldova.
19.
Maia Sandu violated this self-imposed commitment after agreeing to form a coalition government along with the Party of Socialists in early June 2019 as the only way forward to create a legitimate and democratic government.
20.
On 8 June 2019, Maia Sandu was elected Prime Minister of Moldova in a coalition government with PSRM.
21.
Under Maia Sandu, Moldova began taking steps towards the European Union as Maia Sandu herself is pro-EU.
22.
Maia Sandu was ousted as prime minister on 12 November 2019, following a vote of no confidence.
23.
Maia Sandu remained as a caretaker of the office until the formation of a new government.
24.
However, on 24 December 2020 Maia Sandu took office as state president, after winning a landslide election against the pro-Russian Igor Dodon, and again on a pro-EU and anti-corruption platform.
25.
Maia Sandu announced her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election on 18 July, declaring that a joint pro-European candidate would not be needed as there was no risk of there being no pro-European candidates in the second round.
26.
Maia Sandu officially launched her campaign on 2 October 2020, holding two speeches in Romanian and Russian both promising to fight corruption and poverty, and to reform the criminal justice system, while accusing President Dodon of deliberately hindering the latter.
27.
Maia Sandu was congratulated on her win by senior leaders of the European Union, as well as Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and Klaus Iohannis of Romania.
28.
Maia Sandu was sworn in on 24 December 2020 in the Palace of the Republic.
29.
The very next day, Maia Sandu asked MPs to reject her proposed Prime Minister in order to speed up the process of its dissolution and early elections.
30.
The Constitutional Court of Moldova declared the decree unconstitutional, reasoning that Maia Sandu should have accepted a proposal from 54 MPs to instead nominate Mariana Durlesteanu, a former Moldovan ambassador to the United Kingdom.
31.
Maia Sandu declared afterwards that she would not continue consultations, but would not nominate another candidate for Prime Minister.
32.
Maia Sandu had previously stated she would only receive vaccination when it was certain Moldova would have enough vaccines to vaccinate its entire population.
33.
In mid-January 2021, Maia Sandu announced that the Supreme Security Council would be reorganized.
34.
On 8 June 2021, Maia Sandu signed off on the creation of an extra-governmental corruption monitoring body after declaring the state's own institutions "too slow".
35.
Maia Sandu was released from house arrest on 18 November 2022 pending a court trial on all charges.
36.
On 21 March 2023, Maia Sandu announced the creation of a new Anti-Corruption Court which will be set up to try major corruption cases, as well as cases of crime within Moldova's judicial system, as part of a broader move to tackle endemic corruption in the country.
37.
Maia Sandu has expressed her support for the establishment of an international anti-corruption court.
38.
In 2023, Maia Sandu announced the creation of an anti-propaganda centre to counter this disinformation and to improve the country's hybrid threat response capabilities.
39.
On 25 November 2022, Maia Sandu addressed the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the challenge of climate change.
40.
Maia Sandu announced that with assistance from United Nations Development Programme, they would be developing and setting out the commencement of a National Climate Change Adaptation Programme, with a focus on the specific risks and vulnerabilities induced by climate change, and the opportunities to respond to them.
41.
Maia Sandu is a supporter of Moldova's European integration, the country's entry into the European Union, and the resumption of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.
42.
Maia Sandu met EU and Belgian political figures in Brussels in January 2021.
43.
Maia Sandu actively campaigned for the 'Yes' vote supporting European integration in the 2024 Moldovan European Union membership referendum held on the same day as the first round of the 2024 presidential election on 20 October, which won by a narrow margin.
44.
Maia Sandu attributed the result to an "unprecedented assault on our country's freedom and democracy" following allegations of interference by "criminal groups" and pro-Russian interests.
45.
Furthermore, when asked about how she would vote in case there was a referendum on the unification of Moldova and Romania, Maia Sandu replied that she would personally vote "yes".
46.
Maia Sandu met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and parliament speaker Dmytro Razumkov.
47.
Maia Sandu paid tribute to fallen Ukrainians at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide.
48.
Maia Sandu noted that she intends to visit Kyiv and Brussels before going to Moscow, highlighting her more pro-EU stance.
49.
In February 2023, Maia Sandu stated that Moscow had sought to overthrow her country's government, echoing accusations made by Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
50.
Maia Sandu alleged details of Russia's plan of trying to orchestrate violent attacks in Moldova to overthrow the government and institute a government that would be more friendly to Russia and derail the plans to join the European Union.
51.
Maia Sandu has expressed her view that Operational Group of Russian Forces should withdraw from the breakaway region of Transnistria, saying to RBK TV that, although they guard ammunition depots, "there are no bilateral agreements on the OGRF and on the weapons depots".
52.
Maia Sandu stated that it's her position that the "mission should be transformed into an OSCE civilian observer mission".
53.
In September 2021, during an interview at a local television station, Maia Sandu was asked to describe the events that took place in 1992 and led to the Transnistria War, to which she replied:.
54.
Maia Sandu further explained that the Transnistria conflict was an artificial problem created in order to stop Moldova from gaining its independence and that other former Soviet countries experienced the same thing.
55.
Maia Sandu stated that Moldova is looking exclusively for a peaceful and diplomatic solution in the Transnistria conflict.
56.
Maia Sandu is unmarried and has no children, lives in an apartment in Chisinau, and used to own a Toyota RAV4 as means of transportation.