Vasyl Yakovych Shevchuk (born January 19, 1954) was Ukraine’s

environment minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

in 1998-2000 and 2002-2003 and a deputy minister of economy for sustainable development in 1993-1998. Under his leadership, Kyiv hosted the UN “Environment for Europe” Fifth Ministerial Conference in 2003. Shevchuk also held scientific and advisory positions at the

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...

and at the

Parliament of Ukraine 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 ...

(at the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

’s Secretariat and the Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Shevchuk has been the President of Ukraine Nature Conservation Society (''UkrTOP'') since 2002 and previously volunteered and served on its Board.

Biography

Shevchuk was born on January 19, 1954, in Andriyevychi Village,

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

region 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 ...

, to Yakiv (father, 1917–79) and Olha (mother, b.1926) who were farmers. Vasyl Shevchuk was educated at the

Kyiv Institute of National Economy The Kyiv National Economic University ( uk, Київський національний економічний університет імені Вадима Гетьмана, lit=Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University) is a self-govern ...

, Faculty of Accounting and Economics (1971–1975). He graduated from the graduate school of the Council for the Study of Productive Forces of Ukraine ANU (1981). From 1981 to 1992 he worked as a junior

researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

at the Council for the Study of Productive Forces of the

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; uk, Національна академія наук України, ''Natsional’na akademiya nauk Ukrayiny'', abbr: NAN Ukraine) is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine th ...

, in the system of State Construction of Ukraine and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. He was a leading researcher and head of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting of the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture of the

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство освіти і науки України) is the main body in the system of central bodies of the executive power of Ukraine. History On 28 June 1917 Ivan Steshen ...

. In 1992 -1993 Shevchuk worked as a senior consultant of the Economic Service of the President of Ukraine and coordinated the development of

investment policy An investment policy is any government regulation or law that encourages or discourages foreign investment in the local economy, e.g. currency exchange limits. Explanation As globalization integrates the economies of neighboring and of trad ...

. From 1993 to 1995 he was a Deputy Minister of

Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

of Ukraine. He headed the development and implementation of the economic mechanism of rational use of nature and environmental protection and reproduction of water resources and

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

, financial support of nature reserves. In 1995-1997 Vasyl Shevchuk was First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine. He provided the development and implementation of the main directions of state policy of Ukraine in the field of environmental protection, use of natural resources and environmental safety. In 1997-1998 he was First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine. His responsibility was the development of a policy to stimulate investment activity in Ukraine, which made it possible to overcome the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

and restore economic development. Then for 2 years Shevchuk was a Minister of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine. He provided state regulation of nuclear, radiation and man-made environmental safety; liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster; development and implementation of environmental audit and non-capital modernization of production. He founded the National program of ecological rehabilitation of the Dnipro river basin and improvement of drinking water quality and State program for the protection of the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

and

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...

seas. He headed the delegations of Ukraine at the forums of the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...

, the

UNECE The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and ...

, the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...

, which contributed to the growth of support for Ukraine. In 2000-2002 he was a Chief of Staff of the

, Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Environmental Research and Resources under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. He organized the preparation of materials for meetings of the National Security and Defense Council on important issues, including scientific and technological safety and innovation policy,

water safety Water safety refers to the procedures, precautions and policies associated with safety in, on, and around bodies of water, where there is a risk of injury or drowning. It has applications in several occupations, sports and recreational activities. ...

and drinking water quality,

global climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and national policy in this area, ensuring technogenic and environmental safety, etc. Vasyl Shevchuk headed the scientific development of the draft Concept of National Security of Ukraine (new edition), which was approved by the

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 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 ...

by the Law "On the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine" and provided a course for European integration and accession to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. He initiated the establishment of the Interdepartmental Commission on Scientific and Technological Security under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Together with the

, he developed the draft National Doctrine of Innovative Development and Modernization of Ukraine's Economy. He provided the preparation of the National Report of Ukraine on the state of implementation at the national level of the "Agenda for the XXI Century", participated in the state delegation of Ukraine in the

World Summit on Sustainable Development The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, took place in South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss ustainable developmentorganizations, 10 years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was the ...

(

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, 2002). On April 7, 2000, he was awarded the first rank of civil servant. From 2002 to 2003 Shevchuk was a Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. He headed the Delegation of Ukraine and the National Organizing Committee of the 5th Pan-European Conference of Ministers "''Environment for Europe''" (

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 ...

, May 21-23, 2003). Form 2003, he is a Chairman of the Ukrainian Society for Nature Protection, an all-Ukrainian public organization founded in 1946 with more than 1 million members. He ensured the signing and

ratification Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inte ...

by Ukraine of the Kyoto Protocol to the

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in th ...

, which brought Ukraine's economy more than $ 1 billion investment. On behalf of Ukraine, Vasyl Shevchuk signed the Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

, a number of international conventions and protocols, bilateral interstate agreements with many European countries. In 2003, he became a President of the Dnipro Revival Foundation. The main area of activity was to promote the implementation of the National Program for Environmental Rehabilitation of the Dnipro River Basin and to improve the quality of drinking water. From 2003 to 2006 Shevchuk was a Head of the Secretariat of the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In 2006-2011 he took a position of a Deputy Head of the Department of Complex Problems of State-Building of the Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Since 2011, he is Director General of the Center for Sustainable Development Studies and a President of the International Dnipro Foundation. He was awarded the Diploma of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Family

He is married with Oksana Nezhentseva (1959) who is an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. They have a daughter Yulia (1983) who is a lawyer.

Public Service and the Academia

Professor Shevchuk is the author of more than 200

scientific works : ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.'' Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, scienti ...

, including more than 20

monographs A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograp ...

, including ''Macroeconomic Issues in Sustainable Development'', ''Encyclopedia of Water, Natural Resource Economics'', ''Nature Restoration and Sustainable Development'', ''Sustainable Development and Natural Resource Economics''. He was involved in drafting numerous laws, policy papers and national programs. Under his scientific leadership, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

prepared The Foundation of the National Security of Ukraine, The Concept of Sustainable Development of Ukraine,See the official parliamentary website fo
Resolution the Parliament of Ukraine No.1359-III
dd.24-Dec-1999 "On the Concept of Sustainable Development. National Report of Ukraine on the Status of Implementation of

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

for the Sustainable Development Summit in Johannesburg in 2002. Professor Shevchuk serves at the National Academy of Sciences as the head of Noosphere and Harmonious Development Theories Section and a member of Environment and Sustainable Development Council.

Links

Vasyl Shevchuk's Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shevchuk, Vasyl Yakovych 1954 births Living people People from Zhytomyr Oblast Kyiv National Economic University alumni Ukrainian draughts players Ecology and natural resources ministers of Ukraine Preservation of natural environment and nuclear safety ministers of Ukraine Laureates of the Honorary Diploma of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine