Mihai Popșoi | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova | |
| Assumed office 29 January 2024 Serving with | |
| President | Maia Sandu |
| Prime Minister | Dorin Recean Alexandru Munteanu |
| Preceded by | Nicu Popescu |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 29 January 2024 | |
| President | Maia Sandu |
| Prime Minister | Dorin Recean Alexandru Munteanu |
| Preceded by | Nicu Popescu (as Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration) |
| Member of theMoldovan Parliament | |
| In office 22 October 2025 – 1 November 2025 | |
| Succeeded by | Veronica Cupcea |
| Parliamentary group | Party of Action and Solidarity |
| In office 9 March 2019 – 29 January 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Ana Speianu |
| Parliamentary group | Party of Action and Solidarity |
| Constituency | Chișinău |
| Majority | 9,865 (37.0%) |
| Vice President of the Moldovan Parliament | |
| In office 8 June 2019 – 29 January 2024 | |
| President | Igor Dodon Maia Sandu |
| Prime Minister | Maia Sandu Ion Chicu Aureliu Ciocoi (acting) Natalia Gavrilița Dorin Recean |
| Speaker | Zinaida Greceanîi Igor Grosu |
| Succeeded by | Doina Gherman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mihail Popșoi (1987-03-10)10 March 1987 (age 38) |
| Citizenship |  Moldova Romania[1] |
| Political party | Party of Action and Solidarity |
| Spouse | Ecaterina Vâlcu (m. 2009) |
| Children | Ion |
| Alma mater | Moldova State University University of York Central European University University of Milan |
Mihail (Mihai) Popșoi (born 10 March 1987) is aMoldovan politician currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova.
From 2019 to 2024 he served as the Vice President of theMoldovan Parliament.[2] Since 10 September 2017, Mihail Popșoi has been theVice President and International Secretary of the rulingAction and Solidarity Party ofMoldova.[3]
Mihail Popșoi was born on 10 March 1987 in Kotchiha, Kirov region of the Russian SSR, USSR. After his parents returned to Moldova where his father Ion Popșoi soon after fought in theTransnistria War, his family settled inVadul lui Vodă,Chișinău Municipality, Moldova.
After Mihail Popșoi graduated from the Stefan Vodă high school in Vadul lui Vodă in 2006, he went on to study a BA in International Relations atMoldova State University inChișinău and graduated in 2009.[4] During his second academic year (2007–2008), he obtained an Erasmus Mundus grant from theEuropean Commission and studied at theMiddle Technical East University inAnkara,Turkey. He went on to pursue an MA programme atMoldova State University in American Studies. In 2014, Popșoi obtained an MA scholarship from the European Union where he studied Public Policy at theCentral European University (2014–2015) inBudapest,Hungary andUniversity of York (2015–2016),United Kingdom.[5] After MA graduation, he pursued a PhD programme in Political Studies atUniversity of Milan, Italy, where he has been researching the challenges of democratic consolidation and the disconnect between Europeanization and democratization inGeorgia,Moldova, andUkraine.[6]
Mihail Popșoi began his career as a program manager at theNATO Information and Documentation Center inMoldova in 2009. A year later, he was hired by the Political and Economic Section of theAmerican Embassy in Moldova and provided in-house political analysis for four years.[7] His portfolio included following and scrutinizing the legislative process, relations with political parties and a regional focus on theGagauzia Autonomy. In his capacity as political analyst, he received a deeper understanding of Moldova's political processes and decision-making during 2010–2014.
In 2014, Mihail Popșoi left abroad for further graduate studies which allowed him to become a freelance public policy and political risk consultant. Between 2014 and 2019 he has provided analytical commentaries and carried out research on Moldova and the broader region forIHS Inc., NewsBase Ltd.,Jamestown Foundation,American Enterprise Institute,Foreign Policy Research Institute,Chatham House, Global Focus,Konrad Adenauer Foundation,Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Foreign Policy Association of Moldova among others.[8]
Mihail Popșoi entered politics in September 2017 when he was elected as the Vice President of theAction and Solidarity Party (PAS). He is responsible for the international affairs portfolio, serving as an international secretary. He was elected to the Parliament during the2019 legislative election which were held on 24 February 2019.[9] He placed 8th on the electoral list of the Electoral Bloc ACUM, though was actually elected in the single member constituency number 32, which encompassed Chișinău suburbs. He won with 9,865 votes (37.03%) against five opponents, including a three-term mayor ofChișinău (Dorin Chirtoacă) and a six-term mayor ofBudești (Nina Costiuc). On 8 June 2019, he was elected as theDeputy Speaker of Parliament.[10]
.jpg)
As Deputy Speaker ofParliament, he is responsible for coordinating the activity of four standing committees: Legal Committee, Appointments and Immunities, Committee for Human Rights and Inter-ethnic Relations, Committee for National Security, Defense and Public Order, Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration of which Mihail Popșoi is a member. He is a member of several parliamentary delegations, including to the Parliamentary Assembly of theCouncil of Europe,Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. The latter delegation was established in 2015 following the signing of theEU-Moldova Association Agreement. The delegation is co-chaired by Mihail Popșoi along with a Member of theEuropean Parliament. They preside together over bi-annual meetings of the joint EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. Mihail Popșoi is also thechairperson of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with theCongress of the United States and Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with theState Duma of the Russian Federation. He is also a member of Parliamentary Friendship Groups withRomania,Ukraine,Georgia,China,Japan,France,Germany,Sweden, and theNetherlands among others.[11]
On 10 September 2017, the Congress of theAction and Solidarity Party (PAS) of Moldova elected Mihail Popșoi as the Vice president of the party, a position he still holds to the present day.[12]
Mihai Popșoi is a member of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova.[13]
Popșoi speaks fluently Romanian (at a native level), English, and Russian.
During his professional career, Mihail Popșoi has published several analytical materials and studies. Most of his publication and blog posts can be found on his personal website.[14]
In 2006, Mihail Popșoi met Ecaterina Vâlcu and the couple eventually married in 2009. They have a son, Ion, born in 2013. According to income statements, Mihail Popșoi owns two apartments inChișinău of 29.5 sq. m. and 65.6 sq. m. and a land plot inVadul lui Vodă 0.12 ha. Popșoi's family also owns a 2004 Toyota Corolla bought in 2014.[29]
Recean Cabinet (2023–2025) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister |  | |
| Deputy Prime Ministers |
| |
| Ministers |
| |
| Ex-officio members |
| |
Munteanu Cabinet (2025–) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | | |
| Deputy Prime Ministers | ||
| Ministers | ||
| Ex-officio members | ||
Currentforeign ministers of theCIS | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
