Of the 11 candidates who managed to collect the necessary signatures from voters, only one will take over the management of the country for the next four years. The decision will be taken at the polls on October 20. IPN News Agency provides a comprehensive description of each presidential election candidate, including their professional and personal background, held positions, declared income and property, as well as their promises for the future of the Republic of Moldova. Know the candidates, choose responsibly!

Vasile Tarlev is running for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova on behalf of the Party for the Future of Moldova, which he leads. The candidate is known as the longest-serving prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, a position he held between 2001 and 2008.

His slogan in the elections is: “Development, well-being, peace!”

Vasile Tarlev was born on October 9, 1963 in Bașcalia village of Basarabeasca district. He is an engineer-mechanic by profession. He is married and has two children.

He studied at the Faculty of Technology of “Sergei Lazo” Polytechnic Institute in Chisinau, the food processing machines and equipment department. In 1997, he defended his doctoral thesis in Kiev, Ukraine. In 1998, he became a member of the International Academy of Computer Science and Systems. In 2008, he obtained the title of Doctor of Science, Doctor Habilitate, also in Kiev, Ukraine.

From 1995 to 2001, he served as the general manager of the joint stock company “Bucuria”. Before occupying this position, he worked as a senior mechanical engineer, then also as deputy general manager of this company.

In April 2001, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova and held this position until 2008. From 2010 until now, according to the candidate’s CV, he has served as the president of the National Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Moldova.

On September 29, 2008, Vasile Tarlev was elected leader of the political party Centrist Union of Moldova. A year later, he left the party and announced his decision to withdraw from politics. In September 2012, however, he was elected co-chairman of the Renaissance Party, together with Vadim Mishin. At the parliamentary elections of November 30, 2014, the Renaissance Party did not pass the electoral threshold and thus the former prime minister failed to win the seat of MP.

Vasile Tarlev intended to run independently in the 2016 presidential election, but the Central Election Commission refused to register him for the reason that he did not collect enough signatures from supporters.

Between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023, the candidate declared €360,000 profits from the sale of property, and also 7,000 lei from the rental of agricultural land. His wife declared over 300,000 lei earnings.

Vasile Tarlev also owns an agricultural lot inherited in 2012, two apartments and a house. One of the apartments is worth 298,000 lei, and the other apartment, which he inherited, costs 1.78 million lei. The house, which was also inherited, in 2006, is 47 square meters in area and has a reported value of 61,000 lei.

The candidate also declared at least six current accounts, three of which are with a bank in Iasi, Romania. On the accounts, he has €33,000 and slightly over 8,000 Romanian lei. He also owns shares (one third) in the share capital of the limited liability companies Tarus International and Proivis Prim. In his income statement, he also indicated personal interest as a member or founder in six entities. He is a member of the Party for the Future of Moldova, the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the National Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. He is a founding member of Tarus International and Proivis Prim LLCs, and also the founder of the Public Association “Creștinismul-2000”.

The former prime minister announced that his electoral program is based on ten objectives and the revival of the economy is the top of these objectives. He noted that without a strong economy, the state cannot prosper. “We will launch an industrialization program that will transform Moldova into a country of innovation and economic progress. By modernizing agriculture and supporting farmers, we will build a sustainable economy, which will shine both on the domestic and international markets,” stressed Vasile Tarlev.

Among the proposed measures are simplifying business registration procedures and significantly reducing taxes, which, according to the former prime minister, will create at least 120,000 highly-paying jobs.

Vasile Tarlev promises to fight for the independence, integrity and neutrality of the state. “I’m not against Europe. We, geographically, are Europeans, but we have to build Europe at home. As far as foreign policy is concerned, I strongly believe that Moldova’s neutrality is one of the main pillars that will help our country to remain integral. Those who motivate the military blocs do not know what war means. Moldova will be the country of peace. We will develop relations with strategic partners, such as the EU, Russia, China and other countries,” said the candidate.

Vasile Tarlev, the candidate of the Party for the Future of Moldova, is under No. 4 on the ballot for the October 20 election.