Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kovalenko (; 9 May 1935 – 29 June 2021) was a Ukrainian economist and politician who became the first

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1990 to 1991.

Biography

Early life and education

Kovalenko was born on 22 March 1932 in the village of Novolyubimivka,

Ukraine SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, and graduated from the Odesa Institute of National Economy in 1964. After completing the military aviation school and serving in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

's aviation units from 1953 to 1958. Prior to Kovalenko's ministerial role, he had held several early positions such as part of the Tokmak Raion Executive Committee of the Zaporizhia Oblast as their inspector and senior inspector of state revenues since 1958; the Vice

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Primorye Krai Executive Committee and head of the financial division in 1965; the 2nd Secretary of the Primorye Krai Committee of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...

, deputy head of the

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...

Regional Finance Department in 1969; an instructor of the Department of Planning and Financial Bodies of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine in 1974; the head of the financial department of the Cherkasy Raion Executive Committee in 1976; the 1st Deputy Minister of Finance of the Ukrainian SSR in 1986.

Career

Kovalenko was appointed as the Minister of Finance of Ukraine on 2 August 1990. He was relieved of his duties as minister on 29 October 1991 because of a decline in his health. The

Badge of Honor The Badge of Honor novel series is a series of novels written by W.E.B. Griffin about the Philadelphia Police Department. Although the books were originally set in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the characters have only aged a few years (Matt Payn ...

and two medals were given to him in recognition of his accomplishments throughout many years of financial activity. He would go on to become the 1st Deputy Chairman of the

Joint Stock Company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

(JSC) bank named

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 ...

from October 1991 to April 1992. From April 1992 to May 1996, he was promoted to the position of chairman of the bank. lastly, he was the deputy chairman of the board and Head of Affairs of JSC bank Ukraine.

Death

Kovalenko passed away at the age of 85 in

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 ...

on 29 June 2021. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers extended its deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Honours

Throughout his career, he has been awarded the following honours; * SU Order of the Badge of Honour ribbon

Order of the Badge of Honour (1981) *

Merited Economist of Ukraine The Honored Economist (also translated as The Merited Economist of Ukraine, uk, Заслужений економіст України) is an honorary title of Ukraine, awarded for personal merits to the Ukrainian state to citizens who worked in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalenko, Oleksandr Mykolayovych 1935 births 2021 deaths People from Zaporizhzhia Oblast Finance ministers of Ukraine 20th-century Ukrainian politicians 20th-century Ukrainian economists Odesa National Economics University alumni