Oleksandr Ivanovych Kuzmuk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Іва́нович Кузьму́к; born 17 April 1954) is a Ukrainian politician and military commander, who is member of the

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 U ...

and was Minister of Defence of Ukraine on two occasions, from 1996 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2005. Kuzmuk formerly commanded the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; uk, Націона́льна гва́рдія Украї́ни, Natsionalna hvardiia Ukrainy, , ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and Internal Troops, internal military force. It is part of the Minist ...

(1995–1996) and holds the highest rank in the Ukrainian military, General of the Army of Ukraine (1998).

Early life and career

Oleksandr Ivanovych Kuzmuk was born on 17 April 1954 into the family of military officer Ivan Fedorovych Kuzmuk (died 1973) and Rayisa Mykhailivna Kuzmuk, in the village of Diatylivka, in the

Slavuta Raion Slavuta Raion ( uk, Славутський район) was a raion of Khmelnytskyi Oblast in Ukraine. Its administrative center was Slavuta which was incorporated separately as city of oblast significance and did not belong to the raion. It was ...

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast ( uk, Хмельни́цька о́бласть, translit=Khmelnytska oblast; also referred to as Khmelnychchyna — uk, Хмельни́ччина) is an oblast (province) of western Ukraine covering portions of the histo ...

. In 1975, he graduated the Kharkiv Higher Armor Command College.

Soviet military career

From 1975 to 1980, Kuzmuk served as platoon leader of armour forces, and became deputy chief of staff of his armour regiment. From 1980 to 1983, he was an audit student of the

Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy The Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy (Военная академия бронетанковых войск имени Маршала Советского Союза Р. Я. Малиновского) was one of the Soviet military academ ...

, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. After that, until 1988 Kuzmuk was an instructor at the academy. From 1988 to 1993, he was in leading positions of mechanized rifle division. From 1975 to 1993, Kuzmuk served in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

, and the Belorussian,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Carpathian, and

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

s. From 1993 to 1995, he was commander of the 32nd Army Corps and senior military chief of Crimea.

Career in independent Ukraine

From 1995 to 1996, Kuzmuk was commander of the

and was appointed Minister of Defence. In late 2001, he finished his military career and became a politician by participating in the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election on the party list of the

For United Ukraine! For United Ukraine! ( uk, «За Єдину Україну!», translit=Za Yedynu Ukrayinu!) was a political alliance and an electoral bloc in Ukraine founded in December 2001 to participate in the parliamentary election held on 30 March 2002. ...

alliance. Soon after winning multiple seats in 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 ...

, however, the alliance collapsed, and Kuzmuk stayed with the Labour Ukraine party, an off-shot of the

Labour Party of Ukraine Strong Ukraine ( uk, Сильна Україна ''Syl'na Ukrajina''); formerly the Labour Party Ukraine
Database DATA ( ...

. During that time in 2004, he was again appointed the Minister of Defence, while keeping his parliamentary seat. After the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

, Kuzmuk lost his ministerial seat, and was replaced by

Anatoliy Hrytsenko Anatoliy Stepanovych Hrytsenko ( uk, Анатолій Степанович Гриценко; born 25 October 1957) is a Ukrainian politician, independent member of the current Ukrainian parliament, former Minister of Defence, member of the Our U ...

. In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Kuzmuk was elected into the Verkhovna Rada as a member of

. In the 2014 parliamentary election, Kuzmuk tried to win a seat through winning electoral district 38 situated in Novomoskovsk, but failed, finishing in third place with 12.78% of the vote. The announcement of the final result for electoral district 38 (won by Vadym Nesterenko) was delayed until mid-November because Kuzmuk challenged the results in court, claiming Nesterenko was guilty of fraud and bribery of voters.In the 38th district of Dnipropetrovsk stop recount

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

(17 November 2014)

Awards and decorations

Kuzmuk has been awarded the following awards and decorations: * Award of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for "Valor and Honor" * Honorary pistol *

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ( uk, Орден Богдана Хмельницького, Orden Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho) is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was establi ...

, 1st Class *Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd Class *Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd Class * Order of Danylo Halytsky * Order of Merit, 3rd Class

References

External links

Unknown kidnapped a Colonel General in Crimea
Espreso. 5 March 2014
Leadership of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

Commanders of the National Guard of Ukraine
National Guard of Ukraine website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzmuk, Oleksandr Generals of the Army (Ukraine) Living people 1954 births People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast Defence ministers of Ukraine Vice Prime Ministers of Ukraine Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine alumni Frunze Military Academy alumni Party of Regions politicians Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Danylo Halytsky Laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology