Stepan Topal
| Stepan Mikhailovich Topal | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Moldovan Parliament | |
|
In office 1990–1994 |
|
| Governor of Gagauzia | |
|
In office 1990–1995 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 18, 1938 |
| Other political affiliations |
Communist Party of Moldova |
| Profession | road engineer |
Stepan Mikhailovich Topal (Cyrillic: Степан Михайлович Топал) (born January 18, 1938) is a Gagauz politician from Moldova. From 1990 to 1995 he served as Governor (başkan) of Gagauzia.
By training, Topal is a road engineer. He was an activist of the Communist Party of Moldova.
On 19 August 1990, ethnic Gagauz separatists proclaimed an autonomous republic in southern Moldova, around the city of Comrat, and called it the Gagauz Republic (Gagauz-Yeri in their language). In September 1990, individuals representing the mostly Slavic inhabitants of the Dniester River's east bank proclaimed a separate entity in Transnistria with a capital at Tiraspol.
In 1990, Topal became one of the leaders of the separatist movement in southern Moldova. On 31 October 1990, he was elected president of the Supreme Soviet of the self-proclaimed Gagauz SSR.
Although the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Moldova immediately declared these proclamations invalid, elections took place in both separatist republics. On 1 December 1991, Topal was elected president of the Gagauz Republic, and from 1991 to 1995 he headed the Supreme Soviet of the Gagauz Republic. That same month, Igor Smirnov was elected president of Transnistria.
Topal supported greater unity among the former Soviet republics.
Gagauz autonomy was enshrined in the July 1994 Constitution of Moldova, in Article 111, which also provides for Transnistria's autonomy. Later, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted an even broader law, which confers a special autonomous status on Gagauzia as of 23 December 1994.
After Gagauzia's autonomy was accepted by the Moldovan Parliament, the first round of elections for the post of Governor of Gagauzia took place on 25 May 1995, together with elections for the region's Popular Assembly. None of the four candidates for the governorship (Gheorghe Tabunşcic, Mihail Kendighelean, Dumitru Croitor and Stepan Topal) won the votes needed to be elected in the first round. Topal had not even managed to advance to the second round.
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