Prime Minister no. 14
Ion Chicu
Term ended- Term duration
- 413 days
- PM affiliation
- Independent
- Born
- 28 February 1972, Pîrjolteni, raionul Călărași, RSS Moldovenească
- Previous office
- Minister of Finance (December 2018 – November 2019); adviser to President Igor Dodon
Cabinet
Not officially confirmed
The points below come from the press or encyclopedias and could not be checked against Parliament decisions, decrees or the Official Gazette.
- The resignation announced on 23 December 2020 is confirmed by gov.md; no Parliament act noting it was found.
- According to alegeri.md, the Chicu cabinet formally continued until 6 August 2021 (the investiture of the Gavrilița government), with Aureliu Ciocoi as acting prime minister from 31 December 2020.
- President
- Igor Dodon
- Political backing
- Initially PSRM and PDM; after PDM left the coalition (7 November 2020) a PSRM-backed minority government.
- How the mandate began
- Invested by Parliament on 14 November 2019 with 62 votes from the PSRM and PDM deputies and one independent, two days after the Sandu government was toppled by a no-confidence vote (12 November).
- How it ended
- Chicu announced his and the government's resignation on 23 December 2020, after meeting acting President Igor Dodon and the Speaker, on the day Parliament was to debate the no-confidence motion filed on 16 December by PAS, Platforma DA and PDM; the stated aim was to trigger snap elections. Maia Sandu, elected president on 15 November and inaugurated on 24 December, appointed Aureliu Ciocoi from the outgoing cabinet as acting prime minister by decree on 31 December 2020, after Chicu declined to remain as caretaker.
Events
- 14 November 2019: invested as prime minister, pledging to honour obligations to the IMF and World Bank.
- 20 November 2019: first working visit to Moscow, meeting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
- 16 March 2020: cabinet reshuffle (new foreign, defence and other ministers, per the cabinet's minister list).
- 2020: handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; in May Romanian medical aid sparks a diplomatic row and controversial remarks by the premier.
- 7 November 2020: PDM leaves the coalition and the government becomes a minority one; another reshuffle follows on 9 November.
- 15 November 2020: Maia Sandu wins the presidential runoff (sworn in on 24 December), followed by protests for snap elections.
- 23 December 2020: Chicu announces the government's resignation; on 31 December the interim role passes to Aureliu Ciocoi.
Cabinet composition
Cabinet composition: Chicu Cabinet 12 members
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Ion Chicu | Prim-ministru |
| Sergiu Pușcuța | Viceprim-ministru, ministru al finanțelor |
| Alexandru Flenchea | Viceprim-ministru pentru reintegrare |
| Anatol Usatîi | Ministru al economiei și infrastructurii |
| Pavel Voicu | Ministru al afacerilor interne |
| Fadei Nagacevschi | Ministru al justiției |
| Aureliu Ciocoi | Ministru al afacerilor externe și integrării europene |
| Victor Gaiciuc | Ministru al apărării |
| Corneliu Popovici | Ministru al educației, culturii și cercetării |
| Viorica Dumbrăveanu | Ministru al sănătății, muncii și protecției sociale |
| Ion Perju | Ministru al agriculturii, dezvoltării regionale și mediului |
| Irina Vlah | Guvernator al Găgăuziei |
Initial composition; later changes may be missing. Position titles are given in Romanian, as in the source. Source: alegeri.md (secondary source).
Education
Graduate of the Faculty of Management of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova.
Background
Party: Non-party technocrat at investiture; later founder of the Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova (PDCM, 2021)
Ion Chicu was born on 28 February 1972 in the village of Pîrjolteni, Călărași district. An economist by training, he graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova. He ran in the 1998 elections on the Reform Party list and then worked in public administration: director at the Ministry of Economy and Trade, deputy finance minister and, in 2008-2009, state adviser to Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev.
In January 2018 he became secretary general of the Ministry of Finance and in December of that year finance minister. He left the post during the 2019 constitutional crisis and then served as an adviser to President Igor Dodon.
On 14 November 2019 Parliament invested him as prime minister; Dodon described him as a professional with no party affiliation. His term was shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, strained relations with Romania after his remarks in May 2020, and the 2020 presidential campaign. He resigned on 23 December 2020 amid street protests. In 2021 he founded PDCM, which declares a pro-European orientation.
After office
He founded PDCM (31 March 2021, registered 17 April 2021), which won no seats in the July 2021 elections. He ran in the 2024 presidential election (about 2.06%) and, per Wikipedia, has been an MP since 22 October 2025 in the Alternativa group.