Fidor Angheli, who was a member of Moldova’s First Parliament, newspaperman, diplomat, translator and publicist, passed away on June 30, at the age of 79. Doctor of Philology, specialist in oriental culture, poet and emeritus journalists of Moldova, Fiodor Angheli was also citizen of honor of Gagauzia, IPN reports.

The country’s administration issued an obituary, saying that Fiodor Angheli was conferred a number of state awards, including the Order of Honor in 2010 and the Order of the Republic in 2012.

Fiodor Angheli was born in Gaidari village of Ceadir-Lunga district in 1935. He studied at the Moscow State University “M. Lomonosov”. In 1990-1998, he sat as a member of Moldova’s Parliament. He signed all the documents for constituting Moldova as an independent state and was also a member of the commission for drafting the first Constitution of Moldova.

In 1998-2001, Fiodor Angheli served as Moldova’s Ambassador to Turkey. He wrote numerous scientific works and the first Romanian-Gagauz dictionary that includes about 20,000 words. He translated Pushkin’s tales and poems for children in the Gagauz language.

The obituary was signed by President Nicolae Timofti, Head of Parliament Igor Corman, and Prime Minister Iurie Leanca.