Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on Monday issued a decree to remove Artur Cozma from the office of Minister of Culture and Tourism. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the presidential press service declined to comment on the reasons for the dismissal. Artur Cozma was appointed by presidential decree on 19 April 2005, with Parliament's endorsement. He kept his seat in the new Greceanyi Cabinet established on 31 March 2008. Earlier, it has been reported that Artur Cozma could be replaced by singer-turned-presenter Lenuta Burghila. During his ministership, Cozma was involved in a series of scandals like the demolition of the Teodosiu Estate, delays in the restoration of the She-wolf monument, delays in the reconstruction of Eugene Ionesco Theater's building. In the spring of 2008, Parliament rejected a motion proposed by Moldova Noastra Alliance and several unaffiliated MPs to dismiss Cozma “for irresponsible attitude towards the state-protected monument Teodosiu Estate”. Artur Cozma was born on 22 April 1967 in Chisinau. He graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, History Department. He attended post-graduate courses at the Bucharest-based National School of Political Studies and Political Administration and diplomatic courses at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Netherlands and of the Kingdom of Sweden. He also holds a doctor's degree. In 1993 he joined the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he served in various posts until he became Ambassador to Israel in 2001.