CHISINAU, ‌Dec 11 (Reuters) - Former Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who left ‍office for ‌the business sector after a general election, was appointed special envoy ⁠for "development and resilience" on ‌Thursday, responsible for tackling external threats to the ex-Soviet state.

Pro-European President Maia Sandu made the appointment by decree, saying Recean would coordinate work between different ⁠institutions "to prevent and eliminate hybrid threats" and to burnish Moldova's international image.

Sandu is ​pressing for Moldova to join the European Union ‌by 2030 and has denounced ⁠Russia's war in Ukraine, which has buffeted the small country lying between Ukraine and EU member Romania.

She accuses Moscow of overseeing ​campaigns to destabilise Moldova and subvert elections and this week called for an overhaul of legislation to uphold "transparency and accountability" in social media and public debate.

Recean, an ardent advocate of EU membership, ​served ‍as prime minister from ​February 2023 to November 2025 and has also served as interior minister and as an adviser on security issues.

In Moldova's September parliamentary election, Recean won a seat as a member of Sandu's pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, which secured a majority in the assembly.

But ⁠he surprised many officials by declining the president's request to remain as head of government. Sandu ​appointed Alexandru Munteanu, who had worked at the World Bank and Moldova's central bank, as her new premier.

Recean's new position carries no salary. Sandu had earlier appointed former Foreign ‌Minister Nicu Popescu as special envoy for European integration.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau, Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Matthew Lewis)