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Mihai Popșoi

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Mihai Popșoi
Popșoi in 2024
Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 January 2024
Serving with
PresidentMaia Sandu
Prime MinisterDorin Recean
Preceded byNicu Popescu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 January 2024
PresidentMaia Sandu
Prime MinisterDorin Recean
Preceded byNicu Popescu (as Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration)
Vice President of the Moldovan Parliament
In office
8 June 2019 – 29 January 2024
PresidentIgor Dodon
Maia Sandu
Prime MinisterMaia Sandu
Ion Chicu
Aureliu Ciocoi (acting)
Natalia Gavrilița
Dorin Recean
Succeeded byDoina Gherman
Member of the Moldovan Parliament
In office
9 March 2019 – 29 January 2024
Succeeded byAna Speianu
Parliamentary groupParty of Action and Solidarity
ConstituencyChișinău
Majority9,865 (37.0%)
Personal details
Born
Mihail Popșoi

(1987-03-10) 10 March 1987 (age 37)
Kotchikha, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship Moldova
 Romania[1]
Political partyParty of Action and Solidarity
SpouseEcaterina Vâlcu (m. 2009)
ChildrenIon
Alma materMoldova State University
University of York
Central European University
University of Milan
Websitewww.moldovanpolitics.com

Mihail (Mihai) Popșoi (born 10 March 1987) is a Moldovan politician currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova.

From 2019 to 2024 he served as the Vice President of the Moldovan Parliament.[2] Since 10 September 2017, Mihail Popșoi has been the Vice President and International Secretary of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party of Moldova.[3]

Early life and education

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Mihail Popșoi was born on 10 March 1987 in Kotchiha, Kirov region of the Russian SSR, USSR. After his parents returned to Moldova where his father Ion Popșoi soon after fought in the Transnistria War, his family settled in Vadul lui Vodă, Chișinău Municipality, Moldova.

After Mihail Popșoi graduated from the Stefan Vodă high school in Vadul lui Vodă in 2006, he went on to study a BA in International Relations at Moldova State University in Chișinău and graduated in 2009.[4] During his second academic year (2007–2008), he obtained an Erasmus Mundus grant from the European Commission and studied at the Middle Technical East University in Ankara, Turkey. He went on to pursue an MA programme at Moldova State University in American Studies. In 2014, Popșoi obtained an MA scholarship from the European Union where he studied Public Policy at the Central European University (2014–2015) in Budapest, Hungary and University of York (2015–2016), United Kingdom.[5] After MA graduation, he pursued a PhD programme in Political Studies at University of Milan, Italy, where he has been researching the challenges of democratic consolidation and the disconnect between Europeanization and democratization in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.[6]

Professional activities

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Mihail Popșoi began his career as a program manager at the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Moldova in 2009. A year later, he was hired by the Political and Economic Section of the American Embassy in Moldova and provided in-house political analysis for four years.[7] His portfolio included following and scrutinizing the legislative process, relations with political parties and a regional focus on the Gagauzia Autonomy. In his capacity as political analyst, he received a deeper understanding of Moldova's political processes and decision-making during 2010–2014.

In 2014, Mihail Popșoi left abroad for further graduate studies which allowed him to become a freelance public policy and political risk consultant. Between 2014 and 2019 he has provided analytical commentaries and carried out research on Moldova and the broader region for IHS Inc., NewsBase Ltd., Jamestown Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Chatham House, Global Focus, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Open Society Foundation, and Foreign Policy Association of Moldova among others.[8]

Mihail Popșoi entered politics in September 2017 when he was elected as the Vice President of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS). He is responsible for the international affairs portfolio, serving as an international secretary. He was elected to the Parliament during the 2019 legislative election which were held on 24 February 2019.[9] He placed 8th on the electoral list of the Electoral Bloc ACUM, though was actually elected in the single member constituency number 32, which encompassed Chișinău suburbs. He won with 9,865 votes (37.03%) against five opponents, including a three-term mayor of Chișinău (Dorin Chirtoacă) and a six-term mayor of Budești (Nina Costiuc). On 8 June 2019, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.[10]

Mihail Popșoi visiting Leinster House, Ireland on 26 July 2024

As Deputy Speaker of Parliament, he is responsible for coordinating the activity of four standing committees: Legal Committee, Appointments and Immunities, Committee for Human Rights and Inter-ethnic Relations, Committee for National Security, Defense and Public Order, Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration of which Mihail Popșoi is a member. He is a member of several parliamentary delegations, including to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. The latter delegation was established in 2015 following the signing of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. The delegation is co-chaired by Mihail Popșoi along with a Member of the European Parliament. They preside together over bi-annual meetings of the joint EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. Mihail Popșoi is also the chairperson of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Congress of the United States and Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the State Duma of the Russian Federation. He is also a member of Parliamentary Friendship Groups with Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, China, Japan, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands among others.[11]


Other activities

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On 10 September 2017, the Congress of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) of Moldova elected Mihail Popșoi as the Vice president of the party, a position he still holds to the present day.[12]

Mihai Popșoi is a member of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova.[13]

Popșoi speaks fluently Romanian (at a native level), English, and Russian.

Publications

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During his professional career, Mihail Popșoi has published several analytical materials and studies. Most of his publication and blog posts can be found on his personal website.[14]

  • Moldova Cannot Own its Future unless it Breaks with its Past, Slovakia, October, 2014.[15]
  • The 'billion dollar protests' in Moldova are threatening the survival of the country's political elite, London-Chisinau, 2015.[16]
  • EU Draws Transnistria Closer to Avoid Looming Instability, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2015.[17]
  • Moldova's Great Disillusionment. New Eastern Europe Magazine, Krakow, Poland, 2016.
  • How international media failed Moldova's protesters, United Kingdom, 2016.[18]
  • Talk of Reunification Opens Risks and Opportunities for Protest-Ridden Moldova, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2016.[19]
  • Controversial Ruling by Moldova's Constitutional Court Reintroduces Direct Presidential Elections, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2016.[20]
  • Transnistria Moves Toward Russia Despite Talk of Rapprochement with Moldova, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2016.[21]
  • Moldova's Reintegration Policy: Challenging the Status Quo. Book chapter, IOS Press. The Netherlands, 2016.[22]
  • Our man in Moldova, United Kingdom, 2016.[23]
  • Moldova Torn between Past and Future Ahead of Presidential Run-offs, Philadelphia, USA, 2016.
  • Why Did a Pro-Russian Candidate Win the Presidency in Moldova?, Philadelphia, USA, 2016.
  • Moldovan President Igor Dodon Suspended by the Constitutional Court, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2016.[24]
  • Avenues of Russian Military Intervention in Moldova, Washington, USA, 2018.[25]
  • Avenues of Russian Political Intervention in Moldova. Washington, USA, 2018.[26]
  • Moldova's Political Vulnerabilities at Systemic, Institutional and Individual Levels, Romania, 2018.[27]
  • Moldova's Societal Vulnerabilities: How Foreign Actors Shape 'Captive' Identities, Romania, 2018.
  • State of Play Ahead of Moldova's Parliamentary Elections, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, USA, 2018.[28]

Personal life

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In 2006, Mihail Popșoi met Ecaterina Vâlcu and the couple eventually married in 2009. They have a son, Ion, born in 2013. According to income statements, Mihail Popșoi owns two apartments in Chișinău of 29.5 sq. m. and 65.6 sq. m. and a land plot in Vadul lui Vodă 0.12 ha. Popșoi's family also owns a 2004 Toyota Corolla bought in 2014.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Profile: Mihail Popșoi".
  2. ^ "Members of the Parliament". www.parlament.md. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Echipa PAS". Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Mihai Popșoi-PLATZFORMA".
  5. ^ "Mihai Popsoi | University of York - Academia.edu". york.academia.edu. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. ^ "University of Milan". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Profil candidat: Mihai Popșoi". MOLDOVACURATA. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Mihai Popsoi – Eurasia Democratic Security Network". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Victorie pentru Mihai Popșoi. Candidatul blocului ACUM- lider în circumscripția nr.32". unimedia.info. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Circumscripția uninominală nr. 32, Chișinău la alegerile parlamentare din 2019 - alegeri.md". alegeri.md. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Members of the Parliament". www.parlament.md. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Profile: Mihail Popșoi". profiles.rise.md. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Mihai Popșoi". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Moldovan Politics". Moldovan Politics. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Moldova Cannot Own its Future unless it Breaks with its Past". MESA10. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  16. ^ "The 'billion dollar protests' in Moldova are threatening the survival of the country's political elite". EUROPP. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  17. ^ "EU Draws Transnistria Closer to Avoid Looming Instability". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  18. ^ "How international media failed Moldova's protesters". openDemocracy. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Talk of Reunification Opens Risks and Opportunities for Protest-Ridden Moldova". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Controversial Ruling by Moldova's Constitutional Court Reintroduces Direct Presidential Elections". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Transnistria Moves Toward Russia Despite Talk of Rapprochement With Moldova". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  22. ^ Popşoi Mihail (2016). "IOS Press Ebooks - Moldova's Reintegration Policy: Challenging the Status Quo". Nato Science for Peace and Security Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics. 127 (International Crisis Management: NATO, EU, OSCE and Civil Society). doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-641-5-115. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Our man in Moldova". openDemocracy. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Talk of Reunification Opens Risks and Opportunities for Protest-Ridden Moldova". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Avenues of Russian military intervention in Moldova". AEI. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Avenues of Russian political intervention in Moldova". AEI. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Propaganda Made to Measure: How Our Vulnerabilities Facilitate Russian Influence". GlobalFocus. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  28. ^ "State of Play Ahead of Moldova's Parliamentary Elections". Jamestown. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Profil candidat: Mihai Popșoi". MOLDOVACURATA. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
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