Flag of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Міністэрства замежных спраў Рэспублікі Беларусь, BGN/PCGN: ''Ministerstva zamyezhnykh spraw Respubliki Byelarus’''; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Республики Беларусь, BGN/PCGN: ''Ministerstvo inostrannykh del Respubliki Belarus’'') is the Belarusian government

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

which oversees the

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is

Sergei Aleinik Sergei Fyodorovich Aleinik ( be, Сяргей Фёдаравіч Алейнік; born 28 January 1965) is a Belarusian politician who serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Early life and education Sergei Aleinik was born and raised ...

, since December 2022. Anatoly Glaz, a diplomat and spokesperson of the Ministry, has voiced criticism of international sanctions against the

Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luka ...

regime and justified bans on foreign journalists from working in Belarus.

History

Historical lineage

In December 1920, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs was established by resolution of the Second Congress of Soviets of Belarus. With the 1922 formation of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, the functions of representing the Soviet republics in the international arena passed into the national jurisdiction. On 1 February 1944, the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

adopted a law on giving the

Union Republics The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were National delimitation in the Soviet Union, national-based administrative units of ...

powers in the field of foreign policy. The People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the Belarusian SSR was then established on 24 March that year as a direct result of a resolution passed by the Supreme Soviet. According to this law, the union republics received the right to enter into direct relations with foreign states, conclude agreements with them and exchange diplomatic and consular missions. The structure of the

People's Commissariat A People's Commissariat (russian: народный комиссариат; Narkomat) was a structure in the Soviet state (in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in other union and autonomous republics, in the Soviet Union) from 1917– ...

included the political, protocol and consular departments, the personnel department and the administration of affairs. The staff of the People's Commissariat totaled 27 people. By decree of the

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presidi ...

of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus on 26 March 1946, the People's Commissariat was transformed into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Exactly 12 years later, the Council of Ministers gave the order for the ministry to represent the BSSR at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Post-Soviet Union

On 19 September 1991, the ministry become known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, effective on this day from a national law adopted at the extraordinary session of the Supreme Soviet. The ministry then became subordinate to the

Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus The Government of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Урад Рэспублікі Беларусь), which consists of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus (), is the executive branch of state power in Belarus, and is appointed by the ...

. By a decree of President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

on 4 December 1998, the ministry was reorganized by abolishing three ministries: foreign affairs, CIS affairs and foreign economic relations. The new most recent regulation on the ministry was approved by

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

in July 2006. , the Republic of Belarus maintains diplomatic relations with 164 countries of the world, in 47 of which 60 diplomatic missions are opened. Among them are 45 embassies, 7 permanent missions to international organizations, 7 general consulates and 1 consulate. Twelve branches of the embassies of the Republic of Belarus also operate abroad.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

* Yazep Varonka 1918 *

Anton Lutskevich Anton may refer to: People * Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Anton (surname) Places * Anton Municipality, Bulgaria ** Anton, Sofia Province, a village * Antón District, Panama ** Antón, a town and capital ...

1918–20

Belarusian SSR

* Kuzma Kisyalyou 1944–66 * Anatol Hurynovich 1966–90 *

Piatro Kravchanka Piatro Kuzmich Kravchanka ( be, Пятро Кузьміч Краўчанка, born 13 August 1950) is a Belarusian diplomat, political scientist, historian and politician. He was the last foreign minister of the Byelorussian SSR for ten days from ...

1990–91

Republic of Belarus

1991–94 *

Uladzimir Syanko Uladzimir Leonavich Syanko ( be, Уладзімір Лявонавіч Сянько, born 5 August 1946) is a former Belarusian diplomat and politician. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1997. From 1994 to 2004, he was an a ...

1994–97 *

Ivan Antanovich Ivan Ivanavich Antanovich ( be, Іва́н Іва́навіч Антано́віч, russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Антоно́вич born 3 April 1937) is a Belarusian sociologist, linguist, political scientist, philosopher, diplomat, an ...

1997–98 *

Ural Latypov Ural Ramdrakovich Latypov (russian: Ура́л Рамдракович Латы́пов, be, Урал Рамдракавіч Латыпаў, translit=Ural Ramdrakavich Latypaw, tt-Cyrl, Урал Рамдрак улы Латыйпов, born 28 Feb ...

1998–2000 *

Mikhail Khvostov Mikhail Khvostov ( be, Міхаіл Хвастоў, translit=Mikhail Khvastow) has served as the ambassador of Belarus to the United States since May 23, 2003. He is also accredited as a nonresident ambassador to Mexico. From 1991 to 1992, Khvost ...

2000–2003 * Sergei Martynov 2003–2012 *

Vladimir Makei Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei (, be, Уладзі́мір Уладзі́міравіч Маке́й, ; 5 August 1958 – 26 November 2022) was a Belarusian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Early life and educa ...

2012–2022 *

2022

Structure

The structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus as of August 2019: * Minister of Foreign Affairs (Vacant) * First Deputy Minister (position vacant) ** General Legal Department *** International Treaty Office **** Department of bilateral treaties **** Department of Multilateral Treaties *** Legal department ** Office of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

Union State The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar� ...

*** Department for the Development of Allied Relations *** Department for the implementation of economic programs ** Management of regions of Russia *** Department of the Center, Volga and South of Russia *** Department of the North-West, Urals,

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

and the Far East ** Office of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the

Eurasian Economic Community The Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC or EurAsEC) was a regional organisation between 2000 and 2014 which aimed for the economic integration of its member states. The organisation originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on ...

** Office of bilateral relations with the countries of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

** Office of International Security and Arms Control *** Department of

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 inv ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

and

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

*** Department of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

* Deputy Minister (Sergey Aleinik) ** Main organizational and control department *** Office of documentation and control **** Department of organizational work **** Department of documentation and control **** Historical and Archival Department *** Office of coordination and planning *** UNESCO Secretariat *** Office of America **** Department of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

**** US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Division *** Office of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

**** Department of Asia **** Department of Africa and the Middle East * General Directorate of International Diplomacy ** Office of Global Politics and Humanitarian Cooperation ** Office of Economic Cooperation and Sustainable Development * Deputy Minister ** European Headquarters *** Bilateral Cooperation Office **** Central Europe Department **** Department of Northern Europe **** Department of Western Europe *** Office of Pan-European Cooperation **** Division of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe **** Department of European Integration ** Department of Foreign Policy Analysis ** Information Management *** Press Department *** Information Support Department ** State Protocol Service *** Department of visits *** Department for work with the diplomatic corps *** Protocol Sector ** Main consular department *** Management of analysis, planning, visa and tariff policies *** Consular Legal Department *** Department of Citizenship and Travel Abroad *** Office for Foreigners ** Monetary and financial management *** Department of accounting and reporting of the central office *** Department of financing and reporting of foreign agencies *** Department of methodology and control and audit work ** Department of providing diplomatic services *** Logistics Department *** Department of construction and real estate * Deputy Minister (Alexander Guryanov) ** Department of Foreign Economic Affairs *** Export Support Office **** Department of export and investment promotion **** Analysis and Planning Department **** Department for work with foreign missions *** Department of Foreign Trade Policy **** Department of protective measures and market access **** Department of customs and tariff regulation and negotiations with the WTO ** Office of Information Technology ** Office of Diplomatic Security *** Security Department *** Special Communications Department *** Security Engineering Department * HR management ** HR department ** Training Department * Ambassador on special assignments * Ambassador-at-Large

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{Authority control 1991 establishments in Belarus Foreign Affairs Foreign relations of Belarus