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.
List
- Party legend
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | .jpg.webp) |
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 | .jpg.webp) |
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 | .jpg.webp) |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Володимир Зеленський (1978–)  |
20 May 2019 |
Incumbent | 2019 | — (no prior elected office) |
Servant of the People | ||
| 4 years, 241 days | Honcharuk (2019–2020) | ||||||||
| Shmyhal (2020–present) | |||||||||
| Elected in 2019. Incumbent. Led the country during the Russian invasion | |||||||||
Timeline
Social poll rankings of Ukrainian presidents
| 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 |
See also
|
|
References
- Notes
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.
- Footnotes
- ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1295-XII: On the President of the Ukrainian SSR (Про Президента Української РСР). Adopted on 5 July 1991. (Ukrainian)
- ↑ Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank, UNIAN (17 June 2015)
- ↑ "Leonid Kravchuk". Official web-site of President of Ukraine. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ "Leonid Kuchma". Official web-site of President of Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 106/94-ВР: On the date of oath of the President of Ukraine (Про дату принесення присяги Президентом України). Adopted on 14 July 1994. (Ukrainian)
- ↑ "Kuchma Leonid Danylovych". Election of President 99 (in Ukrainian). Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Constitutional Court of Ukraine decision No. 22-рп/2003: Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the case of the constitutional petition of 53 and 47 People's Deputies of Ukraine concerning the official interpretation of the provisions of Article 103 of the Constitution of Ukraine (right on the timing of tenure of the President of Ukraine (Рішення Конституційного Суду України у справі за конституційними поданнями 53 і 47 народних депутатів України про офіційне тлумачення положення частини третьої статті 103 Конституції України (справа щодо строків перебування на посту Президента України)). Adopted on 25 December 2003. (Ukrainian)
- ↑ "Victor Yushchenko". Official web-site of President of Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "History of "Our Ukraine"". Informational server "Our Ukraine" (in Ukrainian). Our Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Yushchenko loses re-election bid". The Washington Times. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "The History of Presidency". Official web-site of President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych". Elections of the President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 757-VII: On withdrawal of the President of Ukraine from the implementation of constitutional powers and calling early presidential elections in Ukraine (Про самоусунення Президента України від виконання конституційних повноважень та призначення позачергових виборів Президента України). Adopted on 22 February 2014. (Ukrainian)
- ↑ Ukrainian Parliament Deprives Yanukovych Of Presidential Title, Radio Free Europe (4 February 2015)
- ↑ "Ukraine: Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov named interim president". BBC News. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Government of Ukraine". Web-portal of Ukrainian Government. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Oleksandr Turchynov" (in Ukrainian). Batkivshchyna. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Petro Poroshenko". Official web-site of President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ↑ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1430-XII: On granting additional powers to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Про надання додаткових повноважень Голові Верховної Ради України). Adopted on 24 August 1991. (Ukrainian)
External links
- "The History of Presidency". Official web-stite of President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
| History |  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inauguration | |||||||
| Residences | |||||||
| Administration and supporting agencies |
| ||||||
(*) approved by parliament | |||||||