Presidents Of The Ukrainian People's Republic

The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. The president is directly elected by the citizens of Ukraine for a five-year term of office (whether the presidential election is early or scheduled), limited to two terms consecutively.

The president's official residence is the Mariinskyi Palace, located in the Pechersk district of the capital Kyiv. Other official residences include the House with Chimaeras and the House of the Weeping Widow, which are used for official visits by foreign representatives. The Office of the President of Ukraine, unofficially known as "Bankova" in reference to the street it is located on, serves as the presidential office, advising the president in the domestic, foreign and legal matters.

Since the office's establishment on 5 December 1991, there have been six presidents of Ukraine. Leonid Kravchuk was the inaugural president, serving three years from 1991 until his resignation in 1994. Leonid Kuchma was the only president to have served two consecutive terms in office. Viktor Yushchenko, Petro Poroshenko, and Viktor Yanukovych served one term, with the latter being replaced by acting president Oleksandr Turchynov, who then also served as Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, on 21 February 2014. Oleksandr Turchynov was the only acting president in Ukraine's modern history. The powers of an acting president are severely limited. On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of president of Ukraine.Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank
, UNIAN (17 June 2015) The Government of Ukraine utilizes a semi-presidential system in which the roles of the head of state and head of government are separate, thus the president of Ukraine is not the nation's head of government. The prime minister serves as the head of government, a role currently filled by Denys Shmyhal who took office in March 2020.

The current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took the oath of office on 20 May 2019. Due to martial law, elections in the country have been suspended.

Overview

The president is also the supreme commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and heads the National Security and Defence Council, which advises the president, co-ordinates and controls executive power in the sphere of national security and defence. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president is the guarantor of the state's sovereignty, territorial indivisibility, the observance of the Constitution of Ukraine and human and citizens' rights and freedoms.

As with the separation of powers, the president has checks on the authority of parliament and the judicial system. For instance, any law passed by the parliament can be vetoed by the president; however, parliament can override their veto with a 2/3 constitutional majority vote. The president has limited authority to disband the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), and nominates candidates for the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defence in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers. Six out of eighteen of the Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the president. Decisions of the president are subject to review by Ukraine's courts with the Constitutional Court having the sole authority and power to declare decrees of the president unconstitutional. While in office, the president enjoys the right of immunity.

Ukrainian presidents are frequently asked by individual citizens for help in solving their personal problems (sometimes successfully); in 2012, (then) president Yanukovych received about 10,000 to 12,000 letters from people every month.

History

Early leadership

Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first, the de facto leader of the nation was the president of the Central Rada in the early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the highest governing body was the General Secretariat headed by its chairperson. With the proclamation of the last universal of the UPR dated 25 January 1918 due to military aggression, the Central Rada of the UPR proclaimed its independence from Russia. On 29 April 1918, the Rada elected Mykhailo Hrushevsky as the first president of the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic, in effect making him the ''de facto'' leader of the republic. Although a rather widespread misconception, the state leadership position title varied and none of them had an official "presidential" title.

On 29 April 1918 the Central Rada was arrested and liquidated during a coup d'état initiated by the local German administration to install Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi who barely spoke a word of the Ukrainian language. In November of the same year the directorate government of the UPR was established as the opposition movement to the Skoropadsky's regime. The Ukrainian People's Republic was soon re-established in December 1918 with Volodymyr Vynnychenko as the Directorate's chairperson, serving as the republic's ''de facto'' second "president" from 19 December 1918 to 10 February 1919. Although really the Directorate was the temporary governing body until the new Ukrainian Constituent Assembly would elect its president. Symon Petliura assumed the representation of the state after Vynnychenko's resignation on 11 February 1919 and until Petlyura's assassination in Paris on 25 May 1926.

Timeline

* 1471–1793: Voivodes of Kyiv
* 1648–1764: Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host
* 1917–1918: President of Ukrainian Central Council
* 1917–1990: First Secretary of the Communist Party
* 1918–1918: Hetman
* 1918–1948: (in exile since 1921)
* 1938–1990: Chair of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (de jure head of state)
* 1990–1991: Chairman of the Supreme Soviet
* 1948–1991: President (in exile)
* since 1991: President

In exile

After the Soviet offensive in 1920 brought control of the Ukrainian territory under the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian People's Republic was forced into exile. Upon the assassination of Petliura, the control over the state affairs were transferred to the former Prime Minister Andriy Livytskyi who in 1948 created the office of the president of Ukraine. Livytskyi served as the first president (in exile) until January 1954. Stepan Vytvytskyi served after Livytskyi from January 1954 until his death on 9 October 1965. Following Vytvytskyi's death, Ivan Bahrianyi temporarily carried out the presidential authority until the third president-in-exile Mykola Livytskyi (son of the first president-in-exile) was sworn into office. Livytskyi served from 1967 until his death in December 1989.

Mykola Plaviuk was the last president-in-exile (and the fourth), serving from December 1989 until his resignation on 22 August 1992 when he ceremonially gave in his presidential authority and state symbols to the newly elected Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk at his inauguration ceremony. In his declaration, it is stated that the current Ukrainian state is the legal successor following the state traditions of the Ukrainian People's Republic, establishing the continuity of the republic.

Viktor Yanukovych has claimed to be the legitimate president of Ukraine stating that the events of the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution amounted to a coup and that the impeachment process has not been properly carried out. On 3 October 2014, a Ukrainian official said that Viktor Yanukovych and other former top officials have obtained Russian citizenship in a "secret decree" signed by Vladimir Putin. If this actually turned out to be true, it would suggest that Yanukovich had given up his claims for presidency as Ukrainian law does not allow for dual citizenship.

Modern presidency

The modern Ukrainian presidency was established on 5 July 1991 by the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which formed the office of "president of the Ukrainian SSR" (). During the transitional period until the presidential elections, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada (then held by Leonid Kravchuk) was empowered with a presidential authority. With the proclamation of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union, the office's official title was changed to "President of Ukraine" on 24 August. In the current Constitution, the Ukrainian presidency is defined in Chapter V, Articles 102–112.

So far, seven presidential elections have been conducted. The first election in 1991 was held at the same time as Ukrainians voted to support the Declaration of Independence in the independence referendum. Leonid Kravchuk was elected Ukraine's first president on 1 December 1991. He was elected by a record number of voters with over 19.5 million who wanted him to remain as the leader of the state. That number has not been beaten yet. His major opponents were the leader of Rukh Vyacheslav Chornovil and the author of the Declaration of Independence. President Kravchuk remained in office until he resigned as part of a political compromise. A snap election was held in 1994, which was won by Ukraine's former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. Kuchma was re-elected for a second term of office in 1999.

The 2004 election was marked by controversy with allegations of electoral fraud in the conduct of the second round runoff ballot between opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko and the government-backed candidate and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. After mass nationwide protests, colloquially known as the "Orange Revolution", a new election was held on 26 December 2004 in which Yushchenko was declared the winner with 52% of the vote and was subsequently sworn into office on 23 January 2005. Yanukovych again served as Prime Minister.

The 2010 election took place on 17 January, with a run-off on 7 February due to a 13 May Constitutional Court ruling striking down 25 October date that the parliament called in April 2009. As a result of this election Yanukovych was elected the fourth modern president of Ukraine.

After Yanukovych was removed from power in early 2014 as a result of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the chairperson of parliament Oleksandr Turchynov was appointed to the role of acting president by the Verkhovna Rada in accordance with article 112 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Oleksandr Turchynov served as the acting president from 23 February until 7 June 2014 and was the only person in Ukrainian history to serve in the role. The acting president of Ukraine lacks many of the executive powers of a president and is only meant to serve for a short time before a new election can take place. During his tenure Oleksandr Turchynov was addressed as "acting president" by other Ukrainian politicians and the media.

The 2014 election took place on 25 May, with entrepreneur Petro Poroshenko winning over 54 percent of the vote; Yulia Tymoshenko was the runner up with around 13 percent.
Poroshenko was sworn in as president on 7 June 2014.

On 18 June 2015 Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine.

The 2019 election took place on 31 March, with a run-off on 21 April. As a result of this election, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian with no prior political experience, became the sixth President of Ukraine, scoring a record 73.22% of the popular vote in the run-off against incumbent Poroshenko. Due to martial law in the country as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, elections in the country have been suspended, and the next election originally scheduled for 2024 has been postponed.

The Government of Ukraine is based on a semi-presidential system. The president of Ukraine is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government with the current prime minister being Denys Shmyhal. Ukraine is somewhat unusual in that while many countries use a similar system typically the role of one leader is relegated to being ceremonial, in Ukraine however both the prime minister and the president have great power and responsibility assigned to their roles. Because the president of Ukraine must approve the appointment of the prime minister, the post of president is generally thought of as the more powerful role.

Election and eligibility

The Ukrainian president is elected by direct popular vote by Ukrainian citizens who are 18 years and over. The president is elected for a 5-year term of office, limited to two terms consecutively.

Ukraine's electoral law provides for a two-round electoral system to elect the president; a candidate must win an absolute majority of all votes cast. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round of voting then the two highest polling candidates contest a run-off second ballot.

According to Chapter V, Article 103 of the Constitution, to be elected president a candidate must be a Ukrainian citizen who has attained the age of 35, has the right to vote, and has resided in the country for the past 10 yearsVitali Klitschko says intends to run for president in Ukraine
, Interfax-Ukraine (24 October 2013)
Parliament passes law that could prevent Klitschko from running for president
, Interfax-Ukraine (24 October 2013) and has full command of the Ukrainian state language. Per the Constitution, regular presidential elections are scheduled to be held on the last Sunday of the last month of the fifth year of the incumbent president's term. If the president's authority has ended pre-term, then the elections must be held within 90 days of the incumbent president's end of term.

Candidates seeking election are required to pay a nomination deposit of 2,500,000 hryvnias (approx. 90,000 US Dollars) which is refunded only to those candidates that progress to the second round of voting.Elections of the President of Ukraine 2019: figures, dates and candidates
, Ukrayinska Pravda (14 November 2018)

The last presidential elections took place on 21 April 2019.

Oath and term of office

According to Article 104 of the Constitution, the president of Ukraine assumes office no later than in thirty days after the official announcement of the election results, from the moment of taking the oath to the people at a ceremonial meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. If the president is elected following special elections in the event of the previous president's resignation, impeachment or death, the president-elect must take oath of office within five days after the publication of the official election results.

The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine administers the oath of office. The president-elect recites the Ukrainian oath of office with their hand on the Constitution and the Peresopnytsia Gospels: The Ukrainian text of the oath according to the article 104 is:

Official English translation:

After conducting the oath, the president signs the text of the oath of office and transfers it over to the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court.

Duties and powers

According to Article 102 of the Constitution, the president is the guarantor of state sovereignty and territorial indivisibility of Ukraine, the observer of the Constitution and human rights and freedoms. As stated in Article 106, the president ensures state independence, national security and the legal succession of the state, also serving as supreme commander-in-chief of the military. Unlike in other semi-presidential systems of government, the president of Ukraine does not belong to the executive branch of government. The Prime Minister is Ukraine's head of government. Thus, the president serves to represent the country and government as a whole, and not any specific branch of government. The president is obliged by the Constitution to prevent any actions of the executive, legislative and judicial branches from taking effect and interfering with the powers of the Constitution. In addition, the president is barred by the Constitution from heading a political party.

The president has the power to submit a proposal for the nomination of the Prime Minister; the Verkhovna Rada, through a constitutional majority, has to support the candidacy.Government approves draft law on cabinet according to which president appoints premier
, Interfax-Ukraine (5 October 2010) Laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada have to be signed by the president to become officially promulgated. The president also has the authority to create consultative, advisory and other subordinate government bodies for their authority with the use of the state budget. The president may address the nation and the Verkhovna Rada with their annual and special addresses on domestic and foreign issues of Ukraine. They may also call for the conduction of national referendums. The president appoints the heads of local state administrations nominated by the Prime Minister for the period of their presidency.

The president represents the country and government as a whole in international affairs. The president has the authority to conduct negotiations and sign treaties on behalf of the Ukrainian government. The right to recognize foreign nations rests solely with the president. The president may appoint and dismiss heads of diplomatic missions of Ukraine to other states and to international organisations and accept the recall of diplomatic representatives to Ukraine of foreign states. Although the president does not head the executive branch of government, he has the right to nominate their candidates for Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.Member of Parliament shares list of possible members of government
, UNIAN (3 March 2020)A New Government for Ukraine: One Female Minister and "Indispensable" Arsen Avakov
Hromadske.TV

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