+10 Kyiv
By Natalya Dvali, Editor
Late in the evening December 2, the Verkhovna Rada approved new members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine headed by Arseny Yatsenyuk. They could not do without scandals: part of people's deputies demanded voting separately for every candidate. Nevertheless, they voted for future ministers "in batch". 288 parliamentarians voted for the candidates though the coalition totals 304 deputies.
It is probably the most ethnically diverse government for the whole history of independent Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers includes an American of Ukrainian origin Natalia Yaresko, Lithuanian Ayvaras Abromavichus, and Georgian Alexander Kvitashvili (before the vote, all three of them were granted Ukrainian citizenship under Petro Poroshenko’s decree). Besides, there are not only politicians, lawyers, and economists in the government now, but also financiers, investors, historians, philosophers, and engineers. The GORDON edition presents a brief profile of each of the ministers.
Minister of Finance
Photo: Natalia Jaresko / Facebook
Name: Natalie Ann YARESKO
Age: 49 years
Place of birth: Chicago, USA
Profession: entrepreneur, investor
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
I am not an advocate of gender theories in business: it is not gender but professionalism that matters. But there are natural factors that help women in business. For example, their ability to systematize a number of tasks and work with them simultaneously. It is a natural process for a woman who is a wife, a mother and a civil servant at the same time. Unlike men, we are faster in adapting to changes and are more human-oriented at the emotional level. It often helps to solve conflicts and feel more confident both in negotiations, in the quality of a member of the supervisory board and in other business situations.
Source: Investgazeta, 2013
Natalia Yaresko is a cofounder and chief executive officer of Horizon Capital investment company. She was born and grew up in Chicago, in a family of Ukrainians who emigrated to the USA after World War II. In the childhood, she attended a School for Ukrainian Studies, studied Ukrainian culture, and played the bandura.
In 1987, she got her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois), two years later she obtained her Master's degree majoring in Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
After graduation from the university, she held a number of positions in the economic division of the US Department of State. From 1992 to 1995, she headed economic department of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Since 1995, she has lived in Ukraine. She founded Horizon Capital in 2006; the company invested $372 million in Ukraine. As of 2014, Horizon Capital manages a capital of $652 million. Horizon Capital owns shares in such companies as Agro-Soyuz, Datagroup, Vitmark-Ukraine, Platinum Bank, AVK, and Shvidko.
Yaresko was member of the Advisory Board for Foreign Investments under the President Viktor Yushchenko and Advisory Committee of the Ukrainian Center of Foreign Investment Promotion under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Yaresko was decorated with the Order of Princess Olga for her contribution to the development of the Ukrainian economy in 2003. She is married and raises two children.
Minister of Economic Development and Trade
Abromavicius with his wife who is Ukrainian. Photo: JetSetter.ua
Name: Aivaras ABROMAVICIUS
Age: 38 years
Place of birth: Vilnius, Lithuania
Profession: financier, investor
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"I am a patriot of Ukraine. Ukraine is not alien to me. I have been married to a Ukrainian for 10 years. I have been living in Kiev for the last six years, before I lived three years in Moscow, seven years in Stockholm, six years in Estonia, and half a year in America. I left my native Lithuania when I was 17 years old. My Swedish friends and I made one of the most successful investment companies in Eastern Europe from scratch. Today, we make investment in 40 countries with a total capital of about four billion dollars.
We have long and hard work ahead. Ukraine is one of the poorest and most corrupted countries in the world, it ranks 112th in terms of ease of doing business. We have to be very quick and tough and use the most radical methods."
From speech in the Verkhovna Rada, December 2, 2014
A partner of the Swedish company East Capital; his company invested in Ukraine more than 1.5 billion UAH as of 2012. He graduated from Concordia International University in Tallinn and in Wisconsin (USA), he won a grant for the first year of tuition from the Soros Fund. After Abromavicius started coaching university women’s and men's basketball teams, he was exempted of tuition fees. At the age of 12, he became a champion of the USSR as a member of national Lithuanian children's basketball team.
He is married to the Ukrainian Katerina Ribachenko, CEO of Agro Region, and raises three children. He is fond of modern art, the businessman’s collection totals more than 100 paintings. "It is more comfortable for a family to live in Kiev," Abromavicius said in his interview to Finparty, "it is greener and there are less traffic jams and less traffic there, we live in Khreshchatyk, unlike Moscow, the air is fresh there."
Minister of Health
Photo: Max Trebukhov / Lb.ua
Name: Alexander KVITASHVILI
Age: 44 years
Place of birth: Tbilisi, Georgia
Profession: historian
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"I have been working in the health care system for 15 years. All the reforms implemented in Georgia since 1996 were carried out either under my supervision or with my participation. I am sure that my experience will help Ukraine very much. We will do our best so that the way that Ukraine will pass in the modernization of health system would be faultless and painless, and, the most important thing, that it would allow people in all the territory of the country to get a high-quality health system".
From speech at a briefing in the Verkhovna Rada, December 2, 2014
Kvitashvili graduated with honors from the Faculty of History of Tbilisi State University majoring in contemporary history of Europe and the USA. In 1993, he obtained his Master's degree in the field of public administration at Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at the New York University (USA). He worked at the Financial and Administrative Department of Atlanta Medical Center (USA).
From 1995 to 2002, he worked as a consultant for various international organizations in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Armenia, and Serbia. For two years, from 2008 to 2010, when reforms were implemented in Georgia under the leadership of Mikheil Saakashvili, he was the Minister of Labor, Health Care and Social Protection in Lado Gurgenidze’s government. He is one of 12 experts selected in the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for the development of medical reforms for 2015-2025.
Alexander Kvitashvili is an author of several analytical papers concerning the reform of health care sector and analysis of the social protection system. He is married to Nicole, a granddaughter of the prominent Georgian politician, Chairman of the Government of the Georgian Democratic Republic (1918–1921) Noe Zhordania. According to the last income statement, Kvitashvili earned 91,195 lari (about $51 thousand) in 2009. He knows English, Russian, and Georgian.
Minister of Infrastructure
Photo: liveretail.ru
Name: Andrey PIVOVARSKY
Age: 36 years
Place of birth: Kyiv, Ukraine
Profession: historian, investor
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"Country leaders must inform business on the real situation in economy: what is going on in state finance, banking sector, with international reserves, industry, and economic growth. A second step that is extremely important for business is bringing the economy out of shadow. At first sight, it is hard work for several years, but business cannot develop without it – it hardly survives. The number of taxes has to be reduced, the procedure of their payment has to be simplified, and the most corrupted of them, the VAT, has to be abolished. It should be replaced with sales tax".
Focus , March, 2014
He graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the Fletcher School at Tufts University (USA). He got a Master’s degree in International Business and Finance. He is the CEO of Continium Fuel Industrial Group; one of its founders was the oligarch and people's deputy Igor Yeremeyev. Since 2006, Pivovarsky has worked in Dragon Capital investment company holding the position of managing director and director of investment and banking department. Before this, he worked at the Moscow office of IFC where he managed investment portfolio for the Central and Eastern Europe amounting to $100 million. He is single.
Ministry of Information Policy
Photo: Yury Stets / Facebook
Name: Yury STETS
Age: 38 years
Place of birth: Ternopil, Ukraine
Profession: journalist
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"Information security is one of the key parameters of national security. Development of a strategy of national information security, management of appropriate resources, protection of national interests, support of the freedom of speech are the functions that require effective and centralized management in the conditions of a military conflict. No agency in the power structure of Ukraine can fulfil these tasks effectively today. Meanwhile, the field of information and communications remains separated, full of contradictions, and influenced by foreign agents; in the condition of geopolitical wars, it becomes a weak spot of the country that the enemies will hit."
Yury Stets / Facebook
Establishment of a new agency – the Ministries of Information Policy – caused many disputes among both civil activists and politicians. The functions of the new ministry were not specified at the time of voting for the new members of the Cabinet of Ministers. Journalists and activists expressed fears that the agency will become an institute of propaganda and censorship in Ukraine. Society insisted that the ministry was created especially for Poroshenko’s godfather Yury Stets (President Poroshenko’s wife Marina and Yury Lutsenko christened Stets’ daughter Eva). Supporters of the new agency assure that the Ministry of Information Policy will deal with the implementation of the unified program of information security, opposition to the information aggression of the Russian Federation and prevention of external impact on Ukrainian information space.
Stets graduated from Sidor Vorobkevich Chernivtsi School of Arts and Kharkiv State Polytechnic University obtaining the qualifications "Manager of Information Systems" and "Manager of Foreign Economic Activity". He was engaged in journalism and PR. He was general producer of Channel 5 run by the current president Poroshenko. In 2012, he was elected to the parliament as a member of the Batkivshchyna party. This summer, he headed the directorate of information security of the National Guard, then he gave up the post of the Chairman of Poroshenko’s Solidarity party (later renamed Petro Poroshenko Bloc). He is married to the journalist of Channel 5 Yana Konotop, their family has three children. He is fond of playing the guitar, he likes cooking.
Minister of Energy and Coal Industry
Photo: ЕРА
Name: Vladimir DEMCHISHIN
Age: 48 years
Place of birth: Ternopil region, Ukraine
Profession: economist, financier
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"According to the strategy, Ukraine will produce about 10% of power from alternative sources by 2020. This parameter is just over 1% now, so we have a long way to go. On the other hand, this technology is rather expensive. I believe that we need to follow this direction in the long term. It is not only about renewable energy sources, it is about independence, but we need to focus on economic feasibility so far."
"RBC Ukraine" , October, 2014
Vladimir Demchishin is the Head of the National Commission of Energy Management, previously he headed the Department of Investment and Banking Services of the InvestCapital Ukraine group (ICU); its board of directors at some point was led by the current head of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva. He was vice-president of ING bank and manager of the Department of Corporate Finance of one of the largest audit companies in the world Ernst&Young.
Demchishin has three higher educations: diploma of an expert in international economic relations from Ivan Franko State University of Lviv, a specialist’s degree from European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany) and an MBA in International Finance from the Business School of Kansas University (USA). He is fluent in three foreign languages: English, German, and Polish.
Vice-Prime Minister
Voshchevsky in the Verkhovna Rada on December, 2, 2014. Photo: Max Trebukhov / Lb.ua
Name: Valery VOSHCHEVSKY
Age: 58 years
Place of birth: Chernihiv region, Ukraine
Profession: economist
Quota: Radical Party of Oleg Lyashko
There was a scandal in the Rada when Voshchevsky was nominated for the position of Vice-Prime Minister. People's deputies were given the official biography of the candidate prepared by the office of the parliament. The personal records said that Voshchevsky had been involved in corruption. Allegedly, when Voshchevsky was one of the top managers of the state company "Ukrainian Highways" in 2009-2010 one of the company’s enterprises was unlawfully leased. "A criminal case was opened," the biography read.
Translation of the image: March 17, 2010 – the Cabinet of Ministers of Mykola Azarov appointed him Head of the State Service of Ukrainian Highways (“Ukravtodor”). He was dismissed two months after appointment on May 17.
2005-2006 and 2008-2010 – Chairman of the Board of Directors of VAT “DAK” “Ukrainian Highways” while managing the state company he attempted to steal DP “ShRBU No.100” of VAT “DAK” “Ukrainian Highways”. A criminal case was instituted against him.
The fragment of oficial biography of the Deputy that was given to all the Parliament members just before the vote. Photo: Igor Lutsenko / Facebook
Oleg Lyashko stood up for the member of his party. "It is a 100% pre-planned provocation that could not take place without the consent of the Verkhovna Rada office and heads of the parliament. It is personal responsibility of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada," Lyashko stated. Voshchevsky declared from the tribune of the parliament that the criminal case was instituted after a call from the President Yanukovych’s Administration when Voshchevsky refused to participate in corruption schemes.
Voshchevsky graduated from Kiev Institute of National Economy majoring in Economics and Logistics Planning. He worked as the Deputy Head of the Chief Directorate for Home Policy in President Leonid Kuchma’s Administration. From 2003 to 2005, he was First Deputy Minister of Economics for European Integration of Ukraine Valery Khoroshkovsky. In 2010, he was appointed Head of the State Service of Ukrainian Highways (“Ukravtodor”) by Mykola Azarov’s Cabinet of Ministers. He was dismissed just two months after his appointment on May 17.
Since 2000, he has been Chairman of the Ukrainian peasants’ Democratic Party. The party was part of Khoroshkovsky’s "Team of Winter Generation" during the parliamentary elections in 2002 and part of Litvin’s National Bloc in 2006. In 2014, he was elected to the parliament from the Radical Party of Oleg Lyashko. Voshchevsky is married. He has a daughter.
Minister of Justice
Photo: Pavel Petrenko / Facebook
Name: Pavel PETRENKO
Age: 35 years
Place of birth: Chernivtsy, Ukraine
Profession: lawyer
Quota: People’s Front
"When I was appointed the minister, I had only two options: either go with the stream or break the system. I chose the second option. Certainly, there are many people who opposed it as corruption in the system of justice has been prospering for many years. Therefore, what I had to do was to make a strong-willed decision and reload the system completely."
Lb.ua , June, 2014
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Yuriy Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University with honors, then from the Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade within the Ministry of Economics of Ukraine majoring in Management of Foreign Economic Activity. He founded Justicia Service law firm together with his partners in 2001, then Declarant law firm, later ML GROUP lawyer company.
According to mass media, Petrenko is an old colleague of Arseny Yatsenyuk, they made friends at the university where they studied together. In 2010, Petrenko became a deputy of the Kiev Council. In 2012, he was elected People's Deputy from Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna Party. He is an active participant of Euromaidan, he has been helping to release activists arrested under Yanukovych's regime since November 26, 2013. Since February 27, 2014, he has been Acting Minister of Justice in Arseny Yatsenyuk’s government. According to the statement, Petrenko's income for 2013 amounted to just over UAH 3 million. He is not married, his hobbies are chess, karate, and boxing. In 2014, he was awarded an academic degree of a Candidate of Law Sciences.
Minister of Youth and Sport
Photo: Igor Zhdanov / Facebook
Name: Igor ZHDANOV
Age: 46 years
Place of birth: Vinnytsya, Ukraine
Profession: historian, lawyer
Quota: Batkivshchyna
"The European choice of Ukraine is not an issue for discussion or compromises. It is a question of our civilization choice. As for the integration of Ukraine into NATO, I am deeply convinced that we cannot ensure safety of our state ourselves, and NATO is a tool that is capable of doing it".
"Shuster LIVE", November 28, 2014
In 1992, he graduated from the Faculty of History of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, two years later he completed postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Law of this university. He did his military service. He was a representative of the presidential candidate Leonid Kuchma in the Central Electoral Commission; from 1994 to 1995 he worked at the Legal Department of the Administration of the President of Ukraine and a group of Kuchma’s assistants. He was a visiting consultant of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime from 2002; in 2004 he became the chief analyst of the electoral headquarters of the presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko. He became people's deputy from the Batkivshchyna Party during the early parliamentary elections in October, 2014. He has been the president of the Open Policy analytical center since 2008. He is married and raises two children. He is fond of biblical history, history of World War II, and fantasy literature.
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources
Photo: Igor Shevchenko / Facebook
Name: Igor SHEVCHENKO
Age: 43 years
Place of birth: Kirovograd region, Ukraine
Profession: lawyer, historian
Quota: Batkivshchyna
"Every official’s personal and inevitable responsibility for a mistake. It is how it should be in a civilized country."
Source: Igor Shevchenko / Facebook
In 1988, he entered Kiev Institute of Physical Culture, then he transferred to the Faculty of History of Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University, a year later he changed for the Faculty of Law. He studied at the Academy of European Law of the European University in Italy. From 2001 to 2006, he was an adviser to the Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the Mayor of Kyiv Alexander Omelchenko for the attraction of foreign investment into Ukraine. He has worked in the Advisory Board at the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Industrial Policy since 2008.
Minister of the Cabinet
Photo: drsu.gov.uа
Name: Anna ONISHCHENKO
Age: 30 years
Place of birth: Kyiv, Ukraine
Profession: lawyer
Quota: People’s Front
One of the youngest ministers in the history of Ukraine (the youngest was Arseny Yatsenyuk who became Minister of Economics of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea at the age of 27 years in 2001). In 2007, Onishchenko graduated from the Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University majoring in Law. In 2011, she was awarded the academic degree of a Candidate of Law Sciences. She worked at several law firms and Privatbank. In 2013, she became legal advisor at the Legal Department of Ukrnafta company. In March 2014, she was appointed the deputy of the Minister of Justice Pavel Petrenko and ran his office. In May, she became Head of the State Registration Service.
In 2013 she represented Arseny Yatsenyuk’s interests in Kyiv Pechersk court; at that moment he was the chairman of the Batkivshchyna faction. The court obliged Yatsenyuk to disprove information on the involvement of the then Secretary of SNBO Andrey Klyuev in the organization of mass provocations during the demonstration in Kyiv on May 18, 2013 and to pay court charges amounting to UAH 220.41. Onishchenko is officially single. According to the 2013 statement, her annual income amounted to UAH 35,000.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services
Photo: Gennady Zubko / Facebook
Name:Gennady ZUBKO
Age: 47 years
Place of birth: Mykolayiv, Ukraine
Profession: engineer, manager and economist
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"Public service today needs people with skills, experience, and governmental approach to problem solving. We can find such people. But the concept of human resource management service does not exist in Ukraine. "Personnel officers" work instead keep track of civil servants. It is necessary to create a human resource management service in the country."
Channel 5, November, 2014
Zubko has three higher educations: Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (specialty "Automated Control Systems"), Kyiv Construction Engineering Institute, and Northwestern University in Chicago. He has an MBA in Business Administration. He was a deputy of Zhitomir Regional Council twice, he ran for mayor of Zhitomir, but he did not win. He became people's deputy from Batkivshchyna in 2012. Zubko is the author of more than ten scientific papers. He is a Candidate of Technical Sciences. According to the latest declaration, his income in 2012 made UAH 1.7 million. He is married with two children.
Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Minister of Culture
Photo: kirilenko.com.ua
Name: Vyacheslav KIRILENKO
Age: 46 years
Place of birth: Kyiv region, Ukraine
Profession: philosopher
Quota: People’s Front
Kirilenko is former Minister of Labor and Social Policy in Yulia Tymoshenko's government and former Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs in Yury Ekhanurov's government. One of the founders of Ukrainian Student Union. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of Taras Shevchenko State University of Kyiv (Philosophy, Education), then he completed postgraduate studies at the same university. He started his political career in 1993 when he became a member of Ukrainian People's Movement (NRU). He is an active participant of the Orange Revolution, former people's deputy of Our Ukraine Party (2002–2005) and Batkivshchyna Party (2012–2014).
On February 22, 2014, after Yanukovych's flight, he proposed to put the bill "On invalidation of the Law of Ukraine "On principles of the State Language Policy" on the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada session; actually, it abolished the status of Russian as a regional language. It caused a wave of protests in the Crimea and in the east of Ukraine, and the law was abolished later. In October, 2014, Kirilenko was elected to the Rada of eighth convocation as a deputy from the People’s Front Party. He is married and raises two children.
Minister of Internal Affairs
Photo: Arsen Avakov / Facebook
Name: Arsen AVAKOV
Age: 50 years
Was born: Kirov village, Azerbaijan
Profession: engineer
Quota: People’s Front
"It is clear today that we are not ready for a full-scale war with the Russian army that is hundred times stronger than ours. But nobody will cede the territory without a fight. I think that the Russian society will not sustain the shock from the amount of victims.
For this reason, our Armed Forces are now in defense. And when the Russians start the attack, I think that the amount of losses will be so big that the sick but not completely unconscious Russian society will revolt against the criminal and dictator Putin".Source: The Insider
Avakov was born in a family of a serviceman, he is of Armenian origin. He has lived in Ukraine since 1966. He graduated from Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute majoring in Automated Control Systems, he obtained a qualification of systems engineer. From 1992 to 2005 he was the president of Investor joint-stock company and founded commercial bank “Basis”. During the presidential election campaign of 2004 he was the Deputy Head of Kharkiv Regional Staff of the presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko. From February, 2005 to February, 2010, he was the Chairman of Kharkiv Regional State Administration. In autumn 2010, Avakov stood for the mayor of Kharkiv, but lost to Hennadiy Kernes.
In January, 2012, the prosecutor's office instituted a criminal case against Arsen Avakov under Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for malicious excess of power and duties entailing grave consequences. On March 21, 2012, Avakov was officially put on the Interpol wanted list. On March 25, 2012, mass media published information that Avakov was detained in Italy. On April 12, 2012, Avakov was released from custody by the decision of the Rome Court. On October 18, 2012, after a trial held in Italy, Ukraine was refused Avakov's extradition.
Avakov was elected people's deputy from the Batkivshchyna party at 2012 parliamentary elections. On February 22, 2014, after the flight of ex-President Victor Yanukovych, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Avakov Acting Minister of Home Affairs. Avakov is an honored economist of Ukraine. According to the Focus magazine for 2013, he ranks 118th in the rating of 200 richest people of Ukraine with a capital amounting to $98.9 million. He is married to Inna Avakova who was Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO "AKB Basis" between 1994 and 2012. He has a son called Alexander who has served in Kiev-1 special battalion of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the ATO zone since early August.
Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food
Photo: Alexey Pavlenko / Facebook
Name: Alexey PAVLENKO
Age: 37 years
Place of birth: Uman, Ukraine
Profession: economist, businessman
Quota: Samopomich
Pavlenko graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and obtained an MBA degree from the School of Business at Nyenrode University, Netherlands. Between 2006 and 2009, he held the position of executive director of Foxtrot company group. He also headed one of the largest agroholdings "Rise". He is a partner of Pharus Assets Management investment fund. Pavlenko helped students of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy: he bought household appliances to dormitories and supported them with individual grants.
Pavlenko was nominated to the position of the Minister of Agrarian Policy by Samopomich faction. "It is a person with considerable administrative experience and his own vision of reforms in the branch rather than a politician," assured the head of the faction Oleg Berezyuk.
Minister of Social Policy
Photo: Pavlo Rozenko / Facebook
Name:Pavel ROZENKO
Age: 44 years
Place of birth: Kyiv, Ukraine
Profession: engineer
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"If I head the ministry and you learn about corruption in my agency, do not go to me, go straight to the Security Service."
Source: Speech at a meeting of the faction of Petro Poroshenko Block, December 1, 2014
He graduated from Electro-Acoustic Faculty of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. As a student, he was one of the founders of the first independent all-Ukrainian student organization "Ukrainian Student Union"; he took an active part in large-scale student protests "Revolution on granite" in the 1990s. Since he was 24, he has worked in civil service. In 2005, he became First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy in Yulia Tymoshenko's Cabinet of Ministers. He worked in Viktor Yushchenko's Secretariat, then returned to the position of Deputy Minister of Social Policy in the second Cabinet of Ministers of Tymoshenko. From 2010, he has worked as an independent expert in social policy.
In 2014, he was elected people's deputy from Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Rozenko is the author of more than 100 articles and publications concerning social policy, pension reform, system of benefits and compensations in Ukraine, remuneration of labor, and other aspects of social and labor relations. He is Rank 1 civil servant. He is married and raises two children.
Minister of Education and Science
Photo: Serhiy Kvit / Facebook
Name:Serhiy KVIT
Age: 49 years
Place of birth: Uzhgorod, Ukraine
Profession: journalist, philologist
Quota: Petro Poroshenko Bloc
"It is necessary to reform secondary education in order to increase quality of educational services. At what expense? First of all, curricula and syllabi need to be revised to bring them to conformity with the current level of world development and the latest scientific technologies. A child has to be an active participant of the educational process and make independent decisions, rather than turn into a static vessel filled or stuffed with knowledge.
Specialized training will be introduced in senior schools. The Ministry of Education and Science develops a new concept together with the Academy of Education Sciences. The main thing for ensuring the quality of education is school textbooks. I can say that the corruption schemes that existing in selection and printing of textbooks are liquidated".
Zerkalo Nedeli , June, 2014
Serhiy Kvit is a Doctor of Philology and professor. In 1991, he graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, he worked as an editor in Word and Time and Ukrainian Problems magazines. From 2001 to 2005 he was director of Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, NAUKMA), from 2007 – president of NAUKMA.
On February 27, 2014, he was appointed the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, having superseded Dmitry Tabachnyk. He is married and has a daughter. His hobbies are sport and reading. Kvit is a Master of Sports in fencing.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Photо: ЕРА
Name: Pavel KLIMKIN
Age: 46 years
Place of birth: Kursk, Russia
Profession: diplomat
Quota: President Petro Poroshenko
"Events of the last months showed that Ukraine needs a new model of safety. Our safety is not guaranteed now, it concerns the Crimea and the east of the country. We will find a model. What will it look like? Political decisions are required for this purpose".
Die Presse , June, 2014
The Foreign Minister in Yatsenyuk's Cabinet of Ministers since June 19, 2014. In 1991, he graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology majoring in Physics and Applied Mathematics, he worked at the Paton Electric Welding Institute. In 1993, he abandoned scientific research and was engaged in diplomacy.
He worked as an attaché, subsequently he worked as Third and Second Secretary of the Department of Military Control and Disarmament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for several years. Between 1997 and 2000, he was the Third and Second Secretary at the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the Head of the Service for Economic and Sectoral Cooperation with the EU at the Department of European Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Between 2004 and 2008 – adviser-envoy of the Embassy of Ukraine in Great Britain. He worked as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Mykola Azarov’s first and second Cabinet of Ministers. In summer 2012, he became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Germany.
He has carried out a number of internal personnel changes on the post of the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, in particular, withdrew many Ukrainian ambassadors from other countries, and carried out a reform of diplomatic corps. He knows English and German and has basic knowledge of French. Klimkin's spouse Natalia is a diplomat, too, she works in the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands. There are three children in the family.
Minister of Defense
Photо: ЕРА
Name: Stepan POLTORAK
Age: 49 years
Place of birth: Odessa region, Ukraine
Profession: military man
Quota: President Petro Poroshenko
"Ukraine needs peace. Only modern, well-trained, mobile, and well-equipped armed forces can guarantee this peace. I understand and know what should be done. I need time, your support and assistance for this. I will rely on professionals and patriots of Ukraine in my work."
From speech in the Verkhovna Rada, October 14, 2014
Colonel General Poltorak graduated from Ordzhonikidzhevsky Highest Military Command College of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the USSR and Military Academy of Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2003, he defended the thesis of the Candidate of Education Sciences on the subject "Pedagogical Conditions of Formation of Division Commander Abilities in Future Officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Ukraine". Since August 1983, he enrolled on military service and held positions of platoon and company commander, chief of battalion staff, battalion, regiment and brigade commander. From March 2002 – Head of the Academy of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Ukraine. On February 28, 2014, he was appointed to Head of the Main Directorate – Commander of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Ukraine by the decree of the speaker of the parliament Oleksandr Tuchynov. On April 15, 2014, he was appointed Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine.
On October 14, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada voted for Stepan Poltorak's appointment to the position of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. His candidacy proposed by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko was supported by 245 people's deputy. For model service and conscientious fulfilment of duties, Poltorak has been decorated with Third Class Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky (2006), Medal "For Distinguished Service", and Ukrainian President’s Sign "For Honorable Service" (1998). He is married and has a son and a grandson.
