The modern Ukrainian presidency 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 proclamation of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991, the title was changed to the "President of Ukraine." The first election of the President of Ukraine, which was 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. 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 his office and fled the country. He was subsequently impeached, and replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, who 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] After defeating Poroshenko, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was inaugurated as the sixth president of Ukraine on 20 May 2019.
Independent Our Ukraine Party of Regions Fatherland Petro Poroshenko Bloc Servant of the People
# | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Cabinets | Elections | Prior office | Political alliance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
— | Leonid Kravchuk [3] Леонід Кравчук (1934–2022) | 24 August 1991 [a] | 5 December 1991 | Fokin (1990–92) | — | Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada | Independent | ||
1 | 5 December 1991 | 19 July 1994 | 1991 | ||||||
2 years, 329 days | Kuchma (1992–93) | ||||||||
Declared independence of Ukraine in 1991. Lost re-election campaign | |||||||||
2 | Leonid Kuchma [4] Леонід Кучма (1938–) | 19 July 1994 [5] | 23 January 2005 | Masol II (1994–95) | 1994 | 2nd Prime Minister of Ukraine | Independent [6] | ||
Marchuk (1995–96) | |||||||||
Lazarenko (1996–97) | |||||||||
Pustovoitenko (1997–99) | |||||||||
10 years, 188 days | |||||||||
Yushchenko (1999–2001) | 1999 | ||||||||
Kinakh (2001–02) | |||||||||
Yanukovych I (2002–04) | |||||||||
Took office following Kravchuk's resignation. Won re-election in 1994 and 1999. Opted out of third term in office [7] | |||||||||
3 | Viktor Yushchenko [8] Віктор Ющенко (1954–) | 23 January 2005 | 25 February 2010 | Tymoshenko I (2005) | 2004 | 7th Prime Minister of Ukraine | Our Ukraine [9] | ||
5 years, 66 days | Yekhanurov (2005–06) | ||||||||
Yanukovych II (2006–07) | |||||||||
Tymoshenko II (2007–10) | |||||||||
Took office following the Orange Revolution. Presided over the Great Recession in Ukraine. Lost re-election campaign [10] | |||||||||
4 | Viktor Yanukovych [11] Віктор Янукович (1950–) | 25 February 2010 | 22 February 2014 | Azarov I (2010–12) | 2010 | 12th Prime Minister of Ukraine | Party of Regions [12] | ||
3 years, 362 days | Azarov II (2012–14) | ||||||||
Elected in 2010. Removed from office following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. [13] Was stripped of the title after leaving office [14] | |||||||||
— | Oleksandr Turchynov [15] Олександр Турчинов (1964–) | 23 February 2014 | 7 June 2014 | Yatsenyuk I (2014) [16] | — | Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada | Fatherland [17] | ||
0 years, 115 days | |||||||||
Temporarily assumed office following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Led the country during the invasion of Crimea | |||||||||
5 | Petro Poroshenko [18] Петро Порошенко (1965–) | 7 June 2014 | 20 May 2019 | Yatsenyuk II (2014–2016) | 2014 | Minister of Trade and Economic Development | Petro Poroshenko Bloc | ||
4 years, 347 days | Groysman (2016–2019) | ||||||||
Elected in 2014. Presided over the first stage of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Lost re-election campaign | |||||||||
6 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy Володимир Зеленський (1978–) | 20 May 2019 | Incumbent | 2019 | — (no prior elected office) | Servant of the People | |||
4 years, 317 days | Honcharuk (2019–2020) | ||||||||
Shmyhal (2020–present) | |||||||||
Elected in 2019. Incumbent. Led the country during the Russian invasion |
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 |
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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.
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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 party was represented in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, from 1994 to 2007 and was the third and fourth largest party during that period. From 2007 onwards the party's electoral results became increasingly marginal, failing to win any seats in subsequent elections despite historically strong support in the central regions of the country. Oleksandr Moroz had led the party for more than twenty years before his resignation in 2012.
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a. ^ Although Leonid Kravchuk's official inauguration ceremony was conducted on 22 August 1992, he carried out most of the presidential responsibilities temporarily ceded to him as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 24 August 1991 [21] until 5 December 1991 when he became President of Ukraine in his own right. He had served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR since 23 July 1990.
b. ^ As President of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
c. ^ "In the event of the pre-term termination of authority of the President of Ukraine in accordance with Articles 108, 109, 110 and 111 of this Constitution, the execution of duties of the President of Ukraine, for the period pending the elections and the assumption of office of the new President of Ukraine, shall be vested in the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine." —Constitution of Ukraine, Article 112.