Vadym Petrovych Hetman ( uk, Вадим Петрович Гетьман; 12 July 1935 – 22 April 1998) was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
statesman, politician, and banker. He is credited with the creation of the
National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...
, Ukraine's central bank.
He was assassinated in April 1998 in his home in Kyiv. According to the
Prosecutor General of Ukraine
The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, uk, Генеральний прокурор України) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General ( uk, Офіс ...
, the crime was paid for by former
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 th ...
Pavlo Lazarenko.
[Генпрокуратура перевіряє Тимошенко на причетність до ще одного вбивства]
BBC Ukrainian
BBC News Ukrainian ( uk, BBC News Україна) is the Ukrainian service of the BBC which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Ukraine and the world. It started broadcasts in 1992. (7 April 2012) He was posthumously conferred the title of
Hero of Ukraine
Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...
on 11 July 2005.
Early life and career
Vadym Petrovych Hetman was born in the village of Snityn, located in
Poltava Oblast
Poltava Oblast ( uk, Полта́вська о́бласть, translit=Poltavska oblast; also referred to as Poltavshchyna – uk, Полта́вщина, literally 'Poltava Country') is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative ...
(at the time in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
), in 1935.
In 1956, he finished the Kyiv Financial-Economic Institute, after which he worked in various financial institutions in
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...
. In 1975, Vadym Hetman was named the first vice-president to the Head of the Government Committee of Pricing of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1987, he became the head of the Agricultural-Industrial Bank of the Ukrainian SSR (since 1990 Ukraine Bank).
Chairman of the National Bank
On 24 March 1992, Vadym Hetman was accepted as the Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine. He supervised early monetary reforms in newly independent Ukraine through 1993, when he resigned from his position as the head of the supervisory board of the
National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...
. However, he maintained close ties with his successor,
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010.
As an informal leader of th ...
. Hetman's signature appears on the original banknotes of Ukraine's national currency, the
hryvnia
The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'.
Name Etym ...
, which was introduced in September 1996.
People's Deputy of Ukraine
Hetman was also a member of 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 ...
from 1990 to 1998. He went for his second term as deputy in 1994 from the
Talne
Talne ( uk, Тальне́, ; russian: Тальное, Talnoye) is a town in Zvenyhorodka Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Talne urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It had a population of ...
electoral district of
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...
as a
nonpartisan. He received 50.97% of the vote in the first round of voting.
He ran for a third term in the
1998 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 29 March 1998. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1976 The Communist Party of Ukraine remained the largest party in the Verkhovna Rada, winning 121 of the 445 ...
, but failed to get re-elected, receiving only 21.85% of the vote, 3.87% below the required percentage to win. His opponent was First Deputy Minister of Information Mykhailo Onofryichuk.
He is also known to have complained to the then-President
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...
about voting irregularities within the Verkhovna Rada itself.
Assassination
Hetman was shot by an apparently professional killer in the elevator of his own apartment block in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
on 22 April 1998.
[
The alleged assassin, 29-year-old Serhiy Kulev, a member of the "Kushner gang" from the Donbas, was only arrested in 2002. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment without bond in April 2003. The Office of the ]Prosecutor General of Ukraine
The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, uk, Генеральний прокурор України) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General ( uk, Офіс ...
has claimed that the assassination was ordered and paid for by Pavlo Lazarenko, a former Prime Minister of Ukraine. Lazarenko has denied responsibility for the killing.[
Despite the ]Luhansk
Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
City Court's verdict, the case remains far from being certain. In early August 2005, the media reported that the convict filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine
The Supreme Court of Ukraine ( uk, Верховний Суд України, ) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in Ukraine.[posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...]
conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine
Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...
by President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010.
As an informal leader of th ...
on 11 July 2005.
On 12 July 2005, a memorial plate was established in his honour on House № 13, where Hetman lived and was assassinated.
In 2005, The Kyiv National Economic University
The Kyiv National Economic University ( uk, Київський національний економічний університет імені Вадима Гетьмана, lit=Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University) is a self-govern ...
was renamed in honour of Vadym Hetman, which he attended in the 1950s.
On 19 April 2006, the ''Industrial Street'' in Kyiv was renamed in his honour.
A regatta cup, "Vadym Hetman Cup" bears his name.
References
External links
National Bank of Ukraine
— official website
Vadym Hetman Cup
— official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetman, Vadym
1935 births
1998 deaths
People from Poltava Oblast
Ukrainian bankers
Governors of the National Bank of Ukraine
Assassinated Ukrainian politicians
Deaths by firearm in Ukraine
People murdered in Ukraine
First convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada
Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada
Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine
Kyiv National Economic University alumni
Burials at Baikove Cemetery