List of presidents of Ukraine

The Mariinskyi Palace, official residence of the president of Ukraine, in July 2018

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 replaced by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov, 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] The sixth and current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who defeated Poroshenko in the 2019 presidential election and was inaugurated on 20 May 2019.


Presidents

List of presidents of Ukraine from 1991 – till date.
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term[3] Party[a] Election Cabinets
1 Photo of Leonid Kravchuk in 1991 Leonid Kravchuk
Леонід Кравчук
(1934–2022)
[4]


5 December 1991[b]
–
19 July 1994 		Independent 1991 Fokin (1990–92)
Kuchma (1992–93)
2 Photo of Leonid Kuchma in 2001 Leonid Kuchma
Леонід Кучма
(1938–)
[6]


19 July 1994
–
23 January 2005 		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 Official portrait of Viktor Yushchenko in 2008 Viktor Yushchenko
Віктор Ющенко
(1954–)
[7]


23 January 2005
–
25 February 2010 		Our Ukraine 2004 Tymoshenko I (2005)
Yekhanurov (2005–06)
Yanukovych II (2006–07)
Tymoshenko II (2007–10)
4 Official portrait of Viktor Yanukovych in 2010 Viktor Yanukovych
Віктор Янукович
(1950–)
[8]


25 February 2010
–
22 February 2014 		Party of Regions 2010 Azarov I (2010–12)
Azarov II (2012–14)
—[d] Photo of Oleksandr Turchynov in 2014 Oleksandr Turchynov
Олександр Турчинов
(1964–)
[9]


23 February 2014
–
7 June 2014 		Fatherland —[d] Yatsenyuk I (2014)
5 Official portrait of Petro Poroshenko in 2014 Petro Poroshenko
Петро Порошенко
(1965–)
[10]


7 June 2014
–
20 May 2019 		Petro Poroshenko Bloc 2014 Yatsenyuk II (2014–2016)
Groysman (2016–2019)
6 Photo of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Володимир Зеленський
(1978–)
[11]


20 May 2019
–
Incumbent 		Servant of the People 2019 Groysman (2016–2019)
Honcharuk (2019–2020)
Shmyhal (2020–present)

Timeline

Volodymyr ZelenskyyPetro PoroshenkoOleksandr TurchynovViktor YanukovychViktor YushchenkoLeonid KuchmaLeonid Kravchuk

Social poll rankings

No. President Political party
2020[12]
2021[13]
 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

  • flagUkraine portal

Notes

  1. ^ Reflects the president's political party at the start of their presidency. Changes during their time in office are noted.
  2. ^ Although Leonid Kravchuk's official inauguration ceremony was conducted on 5 December 1991 , he carried out most of the presidential responsibilities temporarily ceded to him as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 24 August 1991[5] until 5 December 1991, when he became President of Ukraine in his own right. He had previously served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR since 23 July 1990.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ a b Turchynov was appointed acting president[c] after Yanukovych's removal from office by parliamentary vote.

References

  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank Archived 17 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (17 June 2015)
  3. ^ Boyko, O.D.; Girik, S.I.; Kyridon, A.M. (19 June 2022). Історія України: розпад СРСР. Доба Незалежності (1991–2021) [History of Ukraine: the collapse of the USSR. The Era of Independence (1991-2021)]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  4. ^ Кравчук, Леонід Макарович [Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovych]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ "Leonid Kuchma: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Viktor Yushchenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Viktor Yanukovych: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Profile: Olexander Turchynov". BBC News Online. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Petro Poroshenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Volodymyr Zelensky: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  • "The History of Presidency". Official website of the President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
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History
Standard of the president of Ukraine
InaugurationResidencesAdministration and
supporting agencies
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Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1920)
West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919)
Hetmanate (1918)
Ukrainian People's Republic1 (1920–1992)
Ukrainian National Council2 (1941)
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic3 (1922–1991)
Ukraine (since 1991)
  • 1Presidents of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile.   2 Chairman of the Ukrainian National Council.   3During the Soviet period the republican leader was the 1st secretary of the party, while a head of state de jure was the chairman of the parliament's presidium.