Victor Catan is a Major General of Police in the Republic of Moldova, served as a Minister of Internal Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Moldova. Victor Catan was born on 17 August 1949 in the village of Druța in the region of Rîșcani of the Republic of Moldova. He commenced his activities as an electronic technician in 1967. After military service, he graduated from the Special Militia School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR in Chișinău. After graduation, he worked as an inspector of the economic and state treasury police department of the internal affairs section in Anenii Noi in the Republic of Moldova and afterwards as an inspector, senior inspector and Chief of the economic and public treasury police department of the Internal Affairs section in Bender . Parallel to professional activities, Mr. Catan graduated in 1981 from the Supreme School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR in Kiev, with study major in law. Between 1985 and 1990 he was appointed as an "operational in-charge", senior operational in-charge and later chief of the section of the General Directorate for the prevention of economic crimes and crimes against public treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow. A promotion follows first to the position of chief of the General Directorate for the prevention of economic crimes and crimes against public treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, then to the position of chief of Economic Police Directorate of the Ministry of Internal affairs in the Republic of Moldova. In February 1992, Catan was appointed secretary of state with rights of Prime-viceminister of the Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, and in December of the same year he is appointed prime-viceminister and chief of the Department for Public Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was promoted to a special degree of a "major general of police", by Presidential Decree nr.211 of 24 June 1994. On 11 February 1997 he was revoked from position of Prime-viceminister of the internal affairs and appointed Viceminister of Justice. In the period 22 May 1998 – 12 November 1999, Major General of Police Victor Catan acted as a Minister of Internal Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. After this position he worked as Chief of the department of the Office for the Implementation of the First Cadastral Project. Catan's candidacy has been forwarded for the position of the deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in the 25 February 2001 elections on the list of the Renaissance and Conciliation Party of Moldova, but this political party has not obtained enough electoral support to participate in the elections. Starting from 2002 Catan was teaching at the Property Law Faculty at the Technical University in Moldova, as a university professor. In the period 25 September 2009 – 14 January 2011, the General Victor Catan served in the position of Minister of Internal Affairs in the Government led by Mr. Vlad Filat. He is also member of the Liberal DemocratParty of the Republic of Moldova. As an appreciation for his military merits, Catan has been decorated with the Order Ștefan cel Mare by a presidential decree nr.251 din 17 December 1992. Mr. Catan is married and has one child. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova.
