The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство закордонних справ України) is the
ministry of the
Ukrainian government that oversees the
foreign relations of Ukraine
Ukraine has formal relations with many nations and in recent decades has been establishing diplomatic relations with an expanding circle of nations. The foreign relations of Ukraine are guided by a number of key priorities outlined in the forei ...
. The head of the ministry is the
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
.
History
Originally, the ministry was established as the General Secretariat of Nationalities as part of the
General Secretariat of Ukraine and was headed by the federalist
Serhiy Yefremov. Due to the Soviet intervention, the office was reformed into a ministry on December 22, 1917. About the same time, another government was formed (the Soviet) that proclaimed the Ukrainian government to be counter-revolutionary. The Ukrainian Soviet government also reorganized its office on March 1, 1918. In 1923, the office was liquidated by the government of the Soviet Union and reinstated in 1944, twenty years later. The first Soviet representatives were not of much note until the appointment of the Bulgarian native
Christian Rakovsky in 1919.
General overview
The ministry is located in Ukraine's capital
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
in the city's historic
uppertown district, located in close proximity to the recently rebuilt
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery ( uk, Михайлівський золотоверхий монастир, ) is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Michael the Archangel. The monastery is located on the edge of the ba ...
. The building of the ministry is also located on the Mykhailivska Square, named for the monastery and next to the park
Volodymyrska Hill.
The nomination of the Foreign Minister is done by the
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
, unlike most nominations of
Cabinet Minister which are done by the
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The prime minister of Ukraine ( uk, Прем'єр-міністр України, ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of t ...
. All minister nominations have to be approved by the
Ukrainian Parliament
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 ...
.
;Office of National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO
Ukraine has been a member of UNESCO since May 12, 1954. From December 1962 Ukraine had established its permanent representation in the organization currently served by the Ambassador of Ukraine to France. The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO was created as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Presidential decree #212/1996 on March 26, 1996. The Chair of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO is
Sergiy Kyslytsya.
The permanent representative of Ukraine to UNESCO is the Ambassador to France
Kostiantyn Tymoshenko
Kostyantyn or Kostiantyn is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Kostyantyn Balabanov (born 1982), Ukrainian football player
* Kostyantyn Bocharov (born 1997), Ukrainian singer and songwriter
*Kostyantyn Dankevych (1905–1984), U ...
.
Ukraine has 14 academic departments cooperating with
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
as well as 63 schools associated with the organization.
List of schools associated with UNESCO
List of Ministers
Officials before 1924
;General Secretary of Nationalities (June 28 - December 22, 1917)
* Serhiy Yefremov (Socialist-Federalist) (June 28 - July 17, 1917)
* Oleksandr Shulhin (Socialist-Federalist) (July 17 - December 22, 1917)
;People's Secretary of Nationalities (December 14, 1917 - March 1, 1918)
* Sergei Bakinsky (Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
) (December 14, 1917 - March 1, 1918)
;Ministry of Foreign Affairs (December 22, 1917 - May 1920)
* Oleksandr Shulhin (Socialist-Federalist) (December 22, 1917 - January 24, 1918)
* Vsevolod Holubovych (Socialist-Revolutionary) (January 24 - March 3, 1918)
* Mykola Liubynsky (Socialist-Revolutionary) (March 3 - April 28, 1918)
* Mykola Vasylenko (Association of Ukrainian Progressionists) (April 30 - May 20, 1918)
* Dmytro Doroshenko (Socialist-Federalist) (May 20 - November 14, 1918)
* Georgiy Afanasyev (November 14 - December 14, 1918)
* Volodymyr Chekhivsky ( Ukrainian Menshevik) (December 26, 1918 - February 11, 1919)
* Kostiantyn Matsiyevych
Kostiantyn Matsiyevych ( uk, Костянтин Андріанович Мацієвич) (May 18, 1873 in Deremezna, Vasilkovsky Uyezd, Kiev Governorate – April 2, 1942 in Prague) was a Ukrainian statesman and public figure, scientist, agra ...
(February 13 - March 1919)
* Volodymyr Temnytsky (Social Democrat
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
) (April - August 1919)
* Andriy Livytskyi ( Ukrainian Menshevik) (August 1919 - May 1920)
;People's Secretaries of Foreign Affairs (March 1, 1918 - July 1923)
* Volodymyr Zatonsky (Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
) (March 1–4, 1918)
* Mykola Skrypnyk (Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
) (March 8 - April 18, 1918)
* Christian Rakovsky (Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
) (January - July 1919)
* Christian Rakovsky (Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
) (March 1920 - July 1923)
;State Secretaries of Foreign Affairs of Western Ukraine (November 1918 - February 1923)
* Vasyl Paneiko
Vasyl Paneiko ( uk, Василь Лукич Панейко) (1883, Zlotshev – May 29, 1956, Caracas) was a Ukrainian politician, journalist and diplomat. Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–19 ...
(National Democrat) (November 1918 - January 1919)
* Lonhyn Tsehelsky (National Democrat) (January - February 1919)
* Mykhailo Lozynsky
Mykhailo Lozynsky ( uk, Михайло Михайлович Лозинський) (30 July 1880 in Kalush Raion – 3 November 1937 in Sandarmokh) he was Ukrainian politician, theater critic and diplomat. Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the ...
(March - April 1919)
* Stepan Vytvytskyi
Stepan Porfyrovych Vytvytskyi or Dr. Stepan Wytwycky ( uk, Степан Порфирович Витвицький) (13 March 1884 near Stanislawow — 9 October 1965 in New York City, United States) was a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, and journ ...
(National Democrat) (April 1919 - February 1920)
* Kost Levytsky (National Democrat) (1920 - February 1923)
Officials after World War II
;People's Commissars of Foreign Affairs
* Oleksandr Korniychuk (February - July 1944)
* Dmitry Manuilsky (July 1944 - March 15, 1946)
;Ministers of Foreign Affairs
* Dmitry Manuilsky (March 15, 1946 - 1952)
* Anatoliy Baranovsky
Anatoliy Maksimovich Baranovsky ( uk, Анатолій Максимович Барановський) (25 January 1906 – 9 November 1988) was a Ukrainian politician, economist and diplomat. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian SS ...
(June 10, 1952 - June 17, 1953)
** Luka Palamarchuk
Luka Palamarchuk ( uk, Лука́ Хоми́ч Паламарчу́к; russian: Лука́ Фоми́ч Паламарчу́к) (6 September 1906 – 26 December 1985) was a Ukrainian politician, journalist and diplomat. He was Minister of Forei ...
(June 17, 1953 - May 11, 1954)
* Luka Palamarchuk
Luka Palamarchuk ( uk, Лука́ Хоми́ч Паламарчу́к; russian: Лука́ Фоми́ч Паламарчу́к) (6 September 1906 – 26 December 1985) was a Ukrainian politician, journalist and diplomat. He was Minister of Forei ...
(May 11, 1954 - August 13, 1965)
* Dmytro Bilokolos
Dmytro Bilokolos ( uk, Дмитро Захарович Білоколос) (5 February 1912, Donetsk Oblast – 9 February 1993, Kyiv) was a Ukrainian politician and diplomat. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1966–1970). He w ...
(March 16, 1966 - June 11, 1970)
* Georgiy Shevel
Georgiy Shevel ( uk, Георгій Георгійович Шевель) (9 May 1919, in Kharkiv – 16 November 1988, in Kyiv) was a Soviet politician and diplomat. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1970–1980).
Edu ...
(August 10, 1970 - November 18, 1980)
* Volodymyr Martynenko
Volodymyr Martynenko ( uk, Володимир Никифорович Мартиненко) (6 October 1923 – 18 April 1988) was a Ukrainian diplomat. He served as Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations. Minister of Foreign ...
(November 18, 1980 - December 28, 1984)
* Volodymyr Kravets (December 28, 1984 - July 27, 1990)
* Anatoliy Zlenko (July 27, 1990 - August 24, 1991)
;Ministers of Foreign Affairs (post-Soviet)
* Anatoliy Zlenko (August 24, 1991 - August 25, 1994)
** Hennadiy Udovenko (August 25, 1994 - September 16, 1994)
* Hennadiy Udovenko (September 16, 1994 - April 17, 1998)
* Borys Tarasiuk (April 17, 1998 - September 29, 2000)
* Anatoliy Zlenko (October 2, 2000 - September 2, 2003)
* Kostyantyn Gryshchenko (September 2, 2003 - February 3, 2005)
* Borys Tarasiuk (February 4, 2005 - December 1, 2006)
** Borys Tarasiuk (December 5, 2006 - January 30, 2007)
** Volodymyr Ohryzko (January 31, 2007 - March 21, 2007)
* Arseniy Yatseniuk (March 21, 2007 - December 18, 2007)
* Volodymyr Ohryzko (December 18, 2007 - March 3, 2009)
* Petro Poroshenko
Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
(October 9, 2009 - March 11, 2010)
* Kostyantyn Gryshchenko (March 11, 2010 - December 24, 2012)
* Leonid Kozhara (December 24, 2012 - February 23, 2014)[Yanukovych appoints new Cabinet of Ministers]
Kyiv Post
The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden.
History
American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(24 December 2012)
** Andrii Deshchytsia (February 27, 2014 - June 19, 2014)
* Pavlo Klimkin (June 19, 2014 - 29 August 2019)
* Vadym Prystaiko
Vadym Volodymyrovych Prystaiko ( uk, Вадим Володимирович Пристайко; born 20 February 1970) is a Ukrainian diplomat currently serving as Ukraine's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. He w ...
(29 August 2019 - 4 March 2020)
* Dmytro Kuleba (4 March 2020 - )
MFA of Ukraine Spokespersons
* Ihor Dolhov (2001—2002)
* Markiyan Lubkivsky
Markiyan Romanovych Lubkivsky ( uk, Маркіян Романович Лубківський; born 2 September 1971) is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician. He was spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine from 2003 to 2005. He has worked ...
(2003—2005)
* Vasyl Filipchuk
Vasyl Filipchuk (; born October 22, 1971, in the village of Kyseliv, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian diplomat, politician, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Spokesperson (2005–2006) and Director of the Department for European In ...
(2005—2006)
* Andrii Deshchytsia (2006—2008)
* Vasyl Kyrylych (2008—2009)
* Oleksandr Dykusarov (2010-2013)
* Yevhen Perebyinis (2013-2015)
* Mariana Betsa
Mariana Betsa ( uk, Беца Мар'яна Олександрівна; born 1 January 1978) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian diplomat. MFA of Ukraine Spokesperson. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine.
Early life and education
She wa ...
(2015—2018)
* Kateryna Zelenko
Kateryna Zelenko ( uk, Катерина Михайлівна Зеленко; born 10 August 1980) is a Ukrainian diplomat who served as the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine between 2018 and 2020. She was appointed as the Ambassad ...
(2018—2020)
* Oleh Nikolenko (2020-)
See also
* Diplomatic missions of Ukraine
* List of national leaders of Ukraine
* Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations
* Public diplomacy of Ukraine
Ukraine's public diplomacy is an instrument of Ukraine's foreign policy aimed at promoting an attractive image of the state abroad through communication at the level of the public of other states. It includes the use of cultural diplomacy, socia ...
References
External links
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on YouTube
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Facebook
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on VK
{{authority control
Foreign affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
Foreign relations of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...