Grigory Marakutsa

Grigory Stepanovich Marakutsa (Russian: Григóрий Степáнович Маракуца, Romanian: Grigore Stepanovici Mărăcuță, Moldovan Cyrillic: Григоре Степанович Мэрэкуцэ); born 15 October 1942 in Teiu, Grigoriopol District) is a Transnistrian politician and member of the Pridnestrovian Supreme Soviet.

[1] He is a member of the Republic party, which is allied with president Igor Smirnov and which suffered a defeat in the 11 December 2005 parliamentary election.

Although he retained his seat, his party lost its former majority position in parliament and he had to step down from his previous post as Speaker of Parliament, which was taken over by opposition politician Yevgeny Shevchuk from the Renewal party.

Marakutsa was instrumental in the declaration of independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic on 2 September 1990.

Marakutsa was a candidate in the country's first ever presidential election in 1991, but he and his running mate Boris Akulov finished second to Smirnov.