Moldova Parliament Elects Vasile Tofan Prime Minister by 53-21-21 Vote

Moldova’s parliament elected Vasile Tofan as prime minister on Tuesday. Fortune reported that Tofan received 53 votes in favor, 21 against and 21 abstentions. Tofan, 44, is backed by President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity.

Until recently he served as a senior partner at the Ukraine-based investment firm Horizon Capital. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration from Erasmus University in the Netherlands.

The election followed the surprise resignation of former prime minister Alexandru Munteanu after eight months in office.

Munteanu’s departure automatically triggered the resignation of the entire government. ” Sandu, who nominated Tofan, said at the time that Moldova “must have a united, strong team in the government” to fulfill its ambition of joining the EU. She directed Tofan to propose a new cabinet.

As part of the EU accession process, Moldova and Ukraine opened negotiations last month on a cluster of five chapters covering rule of law, fundamental rights and democratic institutions. Both countries opened a second cluster last week focused on foreign relations, security and defense policies, trade policy, development cooperation and humanitarian aid.