The president of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, directly elected to a five-year term by voting eligible citizens of Ukraine. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The current office was formed when the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic passed a law on 5 July 1991 establishing the office of the "President of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic." [1] Upon the declaration of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991, the title was changed to "President of Ukraine". The first presidential election held on 1 December 1991 was won by Leonid Kravchuk.
Every president of Ukraine except for Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been a People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada prior to their election, with Kuchma, Yushchenko, and Yanukovych all previously serving as Prime Minister and Kravchuk as well as acting president Turchynov previously serving as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
Kravchuk was the first president to resign from the office, following a power struggle with Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. After the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Viktor Yanukovych abandoned the office and fled the country. He was subsequently impeached and temporarily replaced by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov; the chairman serves as acting president when the office is vacant. Early presidential elections were held on 25 May 2014 and won by Petro Poroshenko; Poroshenko was inaugurated as the fifth president on 7 June 2014. On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine. [2] The sixth and current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who defeated Poroshenko in the 2019 presidential election and was inaugurated on 20 May 2019.
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term dates [3] | Term length | Party [a] | Election | Cabinets | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leonid Kravchuk Леонід Кравчук (1934–2022) [4] | 5 December 1991 [b] – 19 July 1994 | 2 years, 226 days | Independent | 1991 | Fokin (1990–92) Kuchma (1992–93) | ||
2 | Leonid Kuchma Леонід Кучма (1938–) [6] | 19 July 1994 – 23 January 2005 | 10 years, 188 days | Independent | 1994 1999 | Masol II (1994–95) Marchuk (1995–96) Lazarenko (1996–97) Pustovoitenko (1997–99) Yushchenko (1999–2001) Kinakh (2001–02) Yanukovych I (2002–04) | ||
3 | Viktor Yushchenko Віктор Ющенко (1954–) [7] | 23 January 2005 – 25 February 2010 | 5 years, 33 days | Our Ukraine | 2004 | Tymoshenko I (2005) Yekhanurov (2005–06) Yanukovych II (2006–07) Tymoshenko II (2007–10) | ||
4 | Viktor Yanukovych Віктор Янукович (1950–) [8] | 25 February 2010 – 22 February 2014 | 3 years, 362 days | Party of Regions | 2010 | Azarov I (2010–12) Azarov II (2012–14) | ||
— [d] | Oleksandr Turchynov Олександр Турчинов (1964–) [9] | 23 February 2014 – 7 June 2014 | 104 days | Fatherland | — [d] | Yatsenyuk I (2014) | ||
5 | Petro Poroshenko Петро Порошенко (1965–) [10] | 7 June 2014 – 20 May 2019 | 4 years, 347 days | Petro Poroshenko Bloc | 2014 | Yatsenyuk II (2014–2016) Groysman (2016–2019) | ||
6 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy Володимир Зеленський (1978–) [11] | 20 May 2019 – Incumbent | 5 years, 194 days | Servant of the People | 2019 | Groysman (2016–2019) Honcharuk (2019–2020) Shmyhal (2020–present) |
No. | President | Political party | Aggr. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leonid Kravchuk | Independent | 03 | 05 | 04 |
2 | Leonid Kuchma | Independent | 01 | 01 | 01 |
3 | Viktor Yushchenko | Our Ukraine | 06 | 06 | 06 |
4 | Viktor Yanukovych | Party of Regions | 05 | 04 | 05 |
5 | Petro Poroshenko | Petro Poroshenko Bloc | 04 | 03 | 03 |
6 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Servant of the People | 02 | 02 | 02 |
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only President of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by democratic backsliding and the growth of the Ukrainian oligarchs, as well as several scandals and improvement of Russia–Ukraine relations.
The Socialist Party of Ukraine was a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest parties in Ukraine and was created by former members of the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine in late 1991, when the Communist Party was banned.
The Liberal Party of Ukraine is a modern Ukrainian political party. It was founded on September 12, 1991 in Donetsk. The official date of registration is 10.10.1991, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine certificate number is 132.
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukraine's nuclear arsenal. He was also the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and a People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) faction.
Elections in Ukraine are held to choose the president, Verkhovna Rada (legislature), and local governments. Referendums may be held on special occasions. Ukraine has a multi-party system, often no single party has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
The prime minister of Ukraine is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government. Following the 1991 Declaration of Independence of Ukraine the position replaced the Soviet post of chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, which was established on March 25, 1946.
Ukraine without Kuchma was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001, demanding the resignation of President Leonid Kuchma, and preceding the Orange Revolution. Unlike the Orange Revolution, Ukraine without Kuchma was effectively extinguished by the government enforcement units, and followed by numerous arrests of the opposition and the Ukrainian-speaking participants. Seeking the criminal responsibility for those events was renewed with the election of Viktor Yanukovych as the President of Ukraine.
Yevhen Kyrylovych Marchuk was a Ukrainian politician, intelligence officer, and general who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Ukraine after its independence in 1991.
Borys Ivanovych Tarasyuk is a Ukrainian politician who twice served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a former MP who is since December 2019 Ukraine's permanent representative to the Council of Europe.
Early presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 26 June 1994, with a second round on 10 July. They were held ahead of schedule following a compromise between President Leonid Kravchuk and the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. The elections saw Kravchuk defeated by his former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. They were the first presidential elections in the Commonwealth of Independent States in which the incumbent was defeated.
Serbia–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Serbia and Ukraine. Serbia, as a direct successor to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, recognized Ukraine on 15 April 1994. Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were established on 15 April 1994.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense.
The Office of the President of Ukraine, formerly the Administration of the President of Ukraine, is a standing advisory body set up by the President of Ukraine pursuant to clause 28, Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The Office consists of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Deputies of the Head, Chief of Staff, First Assistant to the President, Advisors, Authorized Advisors, Press Secretary, Representatives of the President, Cabinet of the President, Cabinet of the Head of the Office, Services, Directorates, and Departments.
The president of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. The president is directly elected by the citizens of Ukraine for a five-year term of office, limited to two terms consecutively.
Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. After founding the TAS Group conglomerate in 1998, Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subsequently served as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine from 2002 to 2004. He ran unsuccessfully for President of Ukraine in the 2010 presidential election and participated in the 2014 presidential election, in which he placed fifth with 5.23 percent of the vote. Tihipko is also former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Social Policy.
Oleksandr Yuriyovych Tretiakov is a Ukrainian politician and statesman, People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th convocations. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on veterans, combatants, participants in the anti-terrorist operation and people with disabilities. Since June 2015 is a deputy head of the parliamentary faction of the political party Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Head of the Cabinet of the President of Ukraine (2005). Tretyakov lost his seat in the Rada in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
Kyiv City State Administration is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; Klitschko is also the current Mayor of Kyiv.
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Mykhailo Mykhailovych Tsymbaliuk is a Ukrainian retired lieutenant general of the Militsiya, politician, and legal professor currently serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine on the party list of Batkivshchyna since 29 August 2019. Previously, he served as Governor of Lviv Oblast from 21 December 2010 to 2 November 2011 and as Governor of Ternopil Oblast on two occasions, first from 17 July 2004 to 19 January 2005 and later from 16 June to 21 December 2010.