Lesya Yuriyivna Orobets ( uk, Ле́ся Ю́ріївна Оробе́ць, born May 3, 1982) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

politician and a Member of the

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(Parliament of Ukraine) since 2007 (elected as member of Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence), and was re-elected in 2012 (as member of

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Peo ...

Education

From 1996 to 1999, Orobets attended the

Ukrainian Humanitarian Lyceum Ukrainian Humanities Lyceum (UHL) is a high school educational institution in the Pechersk district of the city Kyiv. It was founded in 1991. Ukrainian Humanitarian Lyceum is a subdivision of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Admissio ...

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

where she specialized in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. After graduating, Orobets continued on to study at the Institute for International Relations at

from 1999 to 2005. She graduated with a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

and a specialization in English translation.Short bio
LIGA.net

Professional experience and political career

From January 2002 to March 2004, Orobets was a lawyer at the law firm "Сота" LTD in Kyiv, Ukraine. Then beginning in March 2004, she worked as an assistant-consultant to

People's Deputy of Ukraine People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights ma ...

(Member of Parliament), Yuriy Orobets until September 2004. Starting in October 2004 and lasting until October 2005, Orobets served as a legal assistant in the

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...

of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

in Kyiv. Immediately following this experience, Orobets worked as an employee representative of the law firm

Baker & McKenzie Baker McKenzie is an international law firm located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949, originally named Baker & McKenzie. It now has 77 offices in 46 countries. It employs 4,809 attorneys total, and approximately 13,000 employees tot ...

located in Kyiv and remained there until February 2007. In September 2007, Orobets was elected as a People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 6th convocation of the

(Parliament of Ukraine) as a part of the Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence as a non-party candidate. Orobets also served as a member of the Committee on Education and Science, and was the head of the subcommittee on basic education. In 2008, Orobets joined the political party

United Centre Andriy Baloha's Team ( uk, Команда Андрія Балоги, Komanda Andriya Balohy; formerly United Centre) is a Ukrainian political party. It is an offspring of Our Ukraine. Legally, Andriy Baloha's Team is the successor of the Party of ...

where she remained until November 13, 2010 when, in a sign of protest against the ascension of the United Centre party leader

Viktor Baloha Viktor Ivanovych Baloha ( uk, Віктор Іванович Балога, born 15 June 1963, Zavydovo) is a Ukrainian politician and the former emergency situations minister. Early life and education Viktor Baloha was born on 15 June 1963 ...

into Prime Minister

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; née, né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, Orobets left the party and accused its leaders of betraying the interests of its voters. Since 2011 and by June 2013, Orobets was a member of the political party Front for Change. Elected during the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.7th convocation of Parliament as a part of

, she is also currently the Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In June 2013 there was a merger of Front for Change and

. Early March 2014 she became a candidate for

Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City ( uk, Київський міський голова, translit=Kyivskyi miskyi holova), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv ( uk, Мер Києва, translit=Mer Kyieva), is a city official elected by popular ...

in the

2014 Kyiv local election Local elections in Kyiv for the post of Mayor and members of Kyiv City Council took place on 25 May 2014, as part of the 2014 Ukrainian local elections.Parliament sets elections for Kyiv mayor and Kyiv City Council deputies for May 25

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...

(25 February 2014) Orobets withdrew herself from Batkivshchyna on 31 March 2014 to be a candidate for Mayor with a "non-party status". But during these elections she headed the New Life party list. In the mayoral elections she finished second (after

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Klitschko officially announced as winner of Kyiv mayor election

(4 June 2014) She was elected into the

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council ( uk, Київська міська рада, translit=Kyivska miska rada), also known as Kyivrada ( uk, Київрада), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The me ...

since her party won 3 seats.In Kyivrada are 9 parties - official results

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(3 June 2014)
60% of the new Kyivrada is filled by UDAR

(4 June 2014)UDAR has 75% of the constituencies in Kyivrada

(3 June 2014)
60% of the new Kyivrada is filled by UDAR

(4 June 2014) But Orobets decided not to become a deputy in the Kyiv City Council. Then Orobets created the new party Mighty Ukraine that was registered at the

Ukrainian Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство юстиції України) is the main body in the system of central government of Ukraine that regulates state legal policy. It is often abbreviated as "Мinjust" f Ukraine I ...

on 27 July 2014.Lesya Orobets created a new party

(21 August 2014) Orobets did not take part in the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.Ukrainian presidential elections Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years. Since the establishment of the position of the President of Ukraine in 1991, the presidential elections have taken place seven times: i ...

. According to analysts, Orobets may claim a record in the number of parliamentary appeals she has addressed to executive authorities at different levels of the government. Between 2011-2013 alone, Orobets sent over 800 appeals to government officials, which focused primarily on protecting the rights of citizens and combating corruption during various important procedures. Working on the issue of corruption in collaboration wit
«Nashi Groshi»
an
«Anticorruption Action Center»
Orobets helped save about 1 billion UAH (or about $100 million) from procurement in the form of budget costs in 2012. Orobets is one of the founders of the national center of the

Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC; Arabic: المنظمة العالمية للبرلمانيين ضد الفساد; French: ''Organisation mondiale des parlementaires contre la corruption''; Spanish: "Organ ...

(GOPAC). Orobets publicly appealed to President

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

in 2008 with a request to stop the theft of land by individuals close to the government, and alongside Bohdan Hubsky she initiated the creation of a temporary inquiry committee to study the circumstances of land purchases in

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

. In 2010, Orobets mobilized citizens from Shulyavka and Solom'yanka (Kyiv districts) to protect the clean environment of Kyiv by attempting to put a stop to the construction of a waste incineration factory in a densely populated area in the capital, which was going to be built despite its illegality. This mobilization of citizens forced the government to make a decision relating to the closure of the factory. Since 2010, she has also fought to prevent the formation of a rigid vertical system of administration in the field of science and education as well as

Dmytro Tabachnyk Dmytro Volodymyrovych Tabachnyk ( uk, Дмитро Володимирович Табачник, ; born November 26, 1963) is a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician, and former science and education minister of Ukraine.Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

. From 2010 to 2012, Orobets actively protested against attempts to falsify committee rulings and regulations. Orobets publicly turned to

Volodymyr Lytvyn Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Литви́н, ; born April 28, 1956) is a Ukrainian politician best known for being Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously se ...

in 2011 with a request to renew the text of the law on banning tobacco advertisement, which was falsified before being given to the head of the Verkhovna Rada to sign. During the parliamentarian elections in 2012, Orobets defended the will of citizens of

Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the Capital city, capital of Cherkasy Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (Raion, district) within the oblast. The c ...

from falsification in district 194. One of her priorities as a Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs is that Ukraine signs an Association Agreement with the EU.

Legislative initiatives

Her legislative priorities include the reform of primary, secondary and higher education, transparent and effective system of elections for units of representative government, and encouragement of charitable activities and leading a healthy lifestyle. During her term in the 6th convocation of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

, Orobets prepared 35 regulatory propositions which included propositions on the reform of Ukraine's higher education system, standardization of independent evaluations as the single criteria for acceptance into universities, the increase of the right of individuals to basic education, a crucial proposition on the regulation of charitable organizations, and, alongside experts, the development of international charity funds. Of these, eight regulations, are already in effect. These regulations include, "On public associations", "On the introduction of a moratorium on the closure of secondary schools in rural areas", "On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine to ban advertisements, sponsorships and promotion of sale of tobacco products", "On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine to pass laws to restrict tobacco product smoking spaces" and more. Experts highlight the high effectiveness of Orobets' regulatory innovations in the sphere of corruption prevention and smoking reform aimed at the ban of tobacco product advertisement (first and second legislation), increasing the tobacco excise tax and banning smoking in public places (first and second legislation). As a result of these regulatory innovations, the level of smoking in Ukraine over the last five years has decreased 17% among men and double that figure among women. In fact, due to the introduction of the excise tax, in only nine months (January 2012 – September 2012) the Ukrainian budget received 12.8 billion UAH. Moreover, since September 16, 2012 all tobacco product advertisements have been banned in Ukraine. As of December 16, 2012, there has been a complete ban on smoking in all food service locations. Orobets is also actively struggling to solve the problems of Ukrainian orphans, specifically through the ratification of international agreements in this field.

Family

Orobets' father was Yuriy Mykolayovych Orobets ( uk, Ю́рій Микола́йович Оробе́ць), a Ukrainian politician and People's Deputy of Ukraine from 1994 to 1998 and 2002 to 2006. President Viktor Yushchenko awarded Yuriy Orobets the

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

award posthumously in 2007. During the 2004 mayoral elections in

Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...

, Yuriy Orobets actively struggled against the use of administrative resources and election fraud. He died in a car accident under suspicious circumstances before a special inquiry commission released a report about unlawful elections in

.
Lesya Orobets' mother is Oksana ( uk, Оксана), a chemical engineer and pensioner. Orobets is married to Oleksandr Omelchuk and has two daughters – Sofiya (16 December 2008) and Erika (25 August 2010). Omelchuk is Chairman of Phoenix Capital, a Ukraine-based investment bank. In November 2012, a few weeks after the 2012 parliamentary elections, Omelchuk landed in the center of media attention in relation to allegations of tax evasion and the Phoenix Capital office was searched on 13 November.Taxmen charge Phoenix Capital with tax evasion topping UAH 4 m

(13 November 2012)
Batkivschyna MP Orobets Fears Repeat Search By Tax Service Of Her Husband's Company Phoenix Capital On New Year Holidays

Ukrainian News Agency The Ukrainian News Agency ( uk, Інформаційне агентство "Українські Новини"; ''Informatsiyne ahentstvo "Ukrayins'ki Novyny"'') is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business ...

(23 December 2012) This was seen by Orobets herself as a way of pressuring her into a pro- Presidential (

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

) majority in the

and an attempt to monopolize the entire investment sector to "the people close to power". (According to Orobets) due to increasing political pressure, Omelchuk was forced to flee the country in June 2013. She added that she was receiving anonymous phone threats.Gorshenin Weekly
Gorshenin Institute (15 July 2013) Late June 2013 the leaders of the three opposition political groups -

Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and fr ...

Vitaliy Klychko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok ( uk, Оле́г Яросла́вович Тягнибо́к, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and Far-right politics in Ukraine, far-right activist who is a former member of the Verkhovna Rada and the ...

- along with over one hundred other MPs signed a claim to stop the politically motivated persecution of opposition MPs and members of their families.

Cultural and political image

According to the newspaper

DELO ''Delo'' (russian: Дело) is a business oriented online media in Ukraine, belonging to ekonomika+ media holding. ''Delo'' was the first daily in Ukraine, publishing its real print circulation (13.000 - 15.000) and trying to introduce Western e ...

(2010), Orobets was selected as the most influential politician-blogger of 2010. Additionally, the magazine

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

named Orobets one of the 100 most influential women in Ukraine – ranking her 54th in 2011 and 26th in 2012. Finally, the journal "Public People" (2011) stated that Orobets is amongst the 10 most influential figures in the field of education in Ukraine. In connection with statements and active participation in human rights projects, Orobets has from time to time landed in the middle of the media's attention. On May 3, 2014, she caused controversy when she posted pictures of herself posing with a rifle on Facebook and Twitter, just the day after the deadly Odessa clashes, which she characterized as "a great victory" and "an adequate response" to the pro-Russian demonstrations.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orobets, Lesya Yuriyivna 1982 births Living people Politicians from Kyiv United Centre politicians Front for Change (Ukraine) politicians All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" politicians Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada People of the Euromaidan 21st-century Ukrainian women politicians 21st-century Ukrainian lawyers World Bank Group people Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Ukrainian women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers Women members of the Verkhovna Rada