On October 14, the parliament of the Republic of Moldova has ratified the Istanbul Convention, which is especially significant as the parliament is currently led by the female prime minister Natalia Gavrilița. Although the motion had been met with opposition from the Socialist and Communist parties, the majority of the elected officials still voted in favour of ratification. Apart from this notable act, who is Natalia Gavrilița and what are her political aspirations?
Natalia Gavrilița was elected as prime minister of Moldova in 2021, but she is far from being new to politics. She is known for being a persistent leader, as her candidature was proposed for the prime minister role before and was rejected by the majority of the parliament. However, she was proposed to be the leader once again in August 2021, which marked the beginning of her journey as PM.
Natalia Gavrilița earned her bachelor’s degree in International Law from the Moldovan State University and her master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard. After graduating from the prestigious university in the US, she came back to Moldova to work as Head of the Department for Economic Forecasts and Development Programs and a year later as Head of the Directorate for Policy Coordination and External Assistance within the State Chancellery. From 2010 she worked in the United Kingdom, as senior consultant and later as Portfolio Manager for Oxford Policy Management. After that, she worked as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Executive Director of the World Bank’s Education Reform Project. Apart from holding administrative positions, Natalia Gavrilița worked in development, managing 11 projects in Africa and Asia. In 2019 she was appointed as the Minister of Finance in the Republic of Moldova, handling a 100 million US dollars budget, while working closely with the IMF and the EU. One of her notorious economic novelties had been the “Solidarity Budget” that intended to help those in need.
Now that Natalia Gavrilița is in office, she is sharing her aspirations for the future of Moldovan politics. Together with her party called “Party of Action and Solidarity” she is focusing on fighting corruption that is especially widespread in the Republic of Moldova at the moment.
“Only several weeks ago, we stopped a large public acquisition that involved the siphoning of money. We are cleaning up leadership and state-owned enterprises. So we are stopping corruption within the government.“ – Natalia Gavrilița
The Prime Minister is also planning on expanding the relationships Moldova has with the West, as her very first foreign trip as Moldova’s PM was to Brussels.
“Our message is that Moldova has a renewed energy, a renewed enthusiasm for fighting corruption, for improving institutions, for ensuring the rule of law, for ensuring economic stability and economic growth. In summary, for ensuring that we get closer to the European values, the European standards and the European way of life.“ – Natalia Gavrilița
An intelligent, enthusiastic, and modern female PM might be a breath of fresh air for the Republic of Moldova, in the country’s fight against corruption and gender equality. Natalia Gavrilița’s story is an inspiration for young girls from developing nations who want to pursue a political career and improve the economic situation in their home countries.
Written by WAVE Intern Polina Lynova
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References:
- Moldovan parliament ratifies Istanbul convention contrary to protestations from Socialists and Communists l Interfax
- Natalia Gavrilița l Wikipedia
- Moldova’s new prime minister discusses the country’s “renewed energy” | Euronews
- Natalia Gavrilița, la Bruxelles: Sunt aici pentru a relansa dialogul dintre țara mea și Uniunea Europeană | TRIBUNA.MD
