Hares Youssef (born 1964) is a businessman, philanthropist, writer and technology investor. He was one of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's Middle East envoys during Yushchenko's 2005-2010 presidency.
Hares Youssef | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1964 (age 58–59) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, Philanthropist |
Youssef was born in Latakia, Syria, in 1964. At the age of 18, he was sent to Kyiv, Ukraine as a military cadet, fulfilling part of the exchange treaty obligations of military cooperation which at that point were in effect between Syria and the Soviet Union. [1]
In 1994 he graduated from the Kyiv State University of Economics and started a business, which eventually spread to various sectors of the economy, in particular, real estate, metallurgy, industrial engineering, and energy. [2]
In 1995, most of its industrial and commercial assets were united into a single holding - Hares Group Holding, registered in Austria. In 2004 the company's turnover reached 420 million dollars. [3]
In 1999 Hares defended his PhD thesis at the Institute of World Economy and Foreign Affairs of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [4]
In 2007 President Yushchenko appointed him his envoy and policy adviser for the Middle East. [5]
In 2007 Hares entered the top 200 list of the most influential Ukrainians according to the Ukrainian weekly Focus. [6]
In 2009, at the age of 45, Hares left most of his business assets in Ukraine and moved to Europe.[ citation needed ] There he founded two charity foundations: The 40 Foundation and Gaiia Foundation.
In 2020 Hares published his first book Gaiia. The philosophical, futurological novel, which was translated into four languages. [7]
Hares Youssef has numerous links with the Lviv IT industry. [8] He is currently working on the final stages of releasing the ‘Golden Hearts’ virtual currency. [9]
Hares Youssef is a patron of many charities in Ukraine. He is a prominent collector of ancient Near Eastern art and antiquities. His private collection of Levantine antiquities is considered to be one of the most extensive held in private hands.
A close friend of the Syrian poet Adunis, he was the publisher of his magazine 'Another' between 2011 and 2013. [10]
Over years, Mr. Youssef has been an active supporter of education initiatives under the auspices of the Foundation UNESCO Education for Children in Need. A variety of projects have been established with the support of Hares Youssef, such as the Hares Youssef Boy school and Hares Youssef Girls School.
His 40 Foundation focuses on supporting science advocacy. [11]
Gaiia Foundation is a multi-faceted project, with the final goal of creating a planetary digital platform for ensuring the vital activity of future economic, social, and financial systems.
The project’s first phase is the platform for philanthropists, ecological activists and charities to raise funds by creating targeted coins as NFTs. [12]
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005.
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards the West, towards the European Union and NATO.
Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November and 26 December 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The last stages of the election were contested between the opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych from the Party of Regions. It was later determined by the Ukrainian Supreme Court that the election was plagued by widespread falsification of the results in favour of Yanukovych.
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of civil resistance, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Nationwide, this was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi is a former Mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, from 2006 until the summer of 2012. He was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex Group and Pravex Bank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine. Since the appointment by President Viktor Yanukovych of Oleksandr Popov as Head of Kyiv City State Administration on 16 November 2010, replacing Chernovetskyi, Chernovetskyi was deprived of any real decision-making role in Kyiv. He tendered his resignation on 1 June 2012.
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She is a member of the Verkhovna Rada as People's Deputy of Ukraine several times between 1997, and 2007, and presently as of 2014, and was First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for the fuel and energy complex from 1999 to 2001. She has the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences.
Kateryna Mykhaylivna Yushchenko was the First Lady of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010. She is married to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. As of April 2023, he was listed as the 460th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$5.7 billion.
Taras Vyacheslavovych Chornovil is a Ukrainian politician and is a former deputy in the Verkhovna Rada.
Herman Makarenko is the conductor of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko, the chief conductor and artistic director of the Kyiv Classic Orchestra, People's Artist of Ukraine, PhD, Doctor of Arts, Professor, Ambassador of the Ukrainian culture, became the first Ukrainian musician to be awarded the title of UNESCO Artist for Peace, author and initiator of international projects, including those under the auspices of the UN and UNESCO, Head of the Viennese Balls Organizing Committee in Ukraine.
The Major Archeparchy of Kyiv–Galicia (Kyiv–Halych) is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Major Archeparchy of the Catholic Church, that is located in Ukraine. It was erected on 21 August 2005 with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. There are other territories of the Church that are not located in Ukraine. The cathedral church — the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ — is situated in the city of Kyiv. The metropolitan bishop is — ex officio — the Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The incumbent major archbishop is Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
Viktor Mykhailovych Pynzenyk is a Ukrainian politician, economist, and former Minister of Finance. He is the former leader of the Reforms and Order Party.
Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok is a Ukrainian politician and far-right activist who is a former member of the Verkhovna Rada and the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist Svoboda political party. Previously, he was elected councilman of the Lviv Oblast Council for the second session.
Taras Voznyak is a Ukrainian culturologist, political scientist, editor-in-chief and founder of Independent Cultural Journal "Ї", director of the Lviv National Art Gallery, laureate of the Vasyl Stus Prize (2021).
Borys Viktorovych Kolesnikov is the leader of the political party Ukraine is Our Home. He is the former secretary of the Party of Regions' presidium, former people's deputy in Verkhovna Rada and head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Communications, and former deputy prime minister of Ukraine and former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine. He is the owner and president of the HC Donbass ice hockey club.
Yevhen Oleksandrovych Shcherban was a Ukrainian businessman and politician. As a member of the Liberal Party of Ukraine, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from the Volnovakha electoral district in Donetsk Oblast.
Lazar Izrayilevich Brodsky was a Russian Imperial businessman of Jewish origin, sugar magnate, philanthropist and patron.
Mohammad Zahoor is a Ukraine-based British-Pakistani businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and owner of the ISTIL Group, a diversified trading company that included a steel mill in Donetsk, which he sold in 2009 for between US$700 million and US$1 billion; a former owner of the Kyiv Post, which he sold for approximately $5 million; and a co-founder of the YUNA music awards.
Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko, known mononymously as Ruslana, is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, actress, activist, and former politician. She is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holding the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. She is also a former MP serving as deputy in the Ukrainian parliament for the Our Ukraine Party. Ruslana was the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Ukraine in 2004-2005. She is recognized as the most successful Ukrainian female solo artist internationally and was included in the top 10 most influential women of 2013 by the Forbes magazine. The U.S. Secretary of State honored her with the International Women of Courage Award in March, 2014. She has been named an honorary citizen of her hometown Lviv and was nominated to receive the title Hero of Ukraine.
Kateryna Serhiivna Zagoriy is a Ukrainian media expert, philanthropist, former secretary of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, co-founder of the Zagoriy Foundation.