Viktor Sheiman
Viktor Vladimirovich Sheiman | |
---|---|
Head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus | |
In office November 29, 2004 – January 5, 2006 | |
Preceded by | Ural Latypov |
Succeeded by | Hienadź Niewyhłas |
Personal details | |
Born | May 26, 1958 Soltanishki, Voranava District, Hrodna Voblast, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
Nationality | Belarusian |
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater | Blagoveshchenskoe Tank Command Red Banner School, Ministry of the Interior Academy of the Republic of Belarus |
Viktor Vladimirovich Sheiman (Belarusian: Віктар Уладзіміравіч Шэйман Viktar Uladzimiravich Sheyman; Russian: Виктор Владимирович Шейман Viktor Vladimirovich Sheyman; born 26 May 1958) is a Belarusian politician.
Political life
He graduated from the Blagoveshchenskoe Tank Command Red Banner School in Gorky Oblast and the Ministry of the Interior Academy of the Republic of Belarus in Minsk. He served in the Soviet Airborne Troops, and participated in the Soviet–Afghan War, eventually attaining the rank of Major General. In 1990, he was elected Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR for the Brest constituency, a post he held until 1994. He was also Secretary of the Commission of the Supreme Soviet for Questions of National Security, Defence and Crime Control. He has been an active supporter of Alexander Lukashenko since his election in 1994. On 5 August 1994, the day the Security Council of Belarus was created by presidential decree, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.
On 10 August 1994, he was made a member of the Board of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense. On 12 August 1994, he was made a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From 16 December 1995 to 27 November 2000, he held the posts of Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus and Minister of Internal Affairs. On 27 November 2000, he was dismissed from the post of Secretary of the Security Council and made Assistant to the President for National Security. From 28 November 2000 to 29 November 2004, he was Prosecutor General of Belarus.
From 29 November 2004 to 4 January 2006, he held was Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus.
On March 20, 2006, he was again appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.
On 21 April 2007, he was appointed Cochairman of the Belarusian-Venezuelan Joint Commission.[1]
In January 2009, the Press Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus stated that Viktor Sheiman was appointed Assistant to the President for Special Commissions.[2]
Later, Sheiman was again made subject of an EU travel ban and asset freeze, following the crackdown of opposition protests after the 2010 presidential election in Belarus.
In its decision, the EU Council accused Sheiman of being "responsible for the unresolved disappearances of Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovski and Dmitri Zavadski in Belarus in 1999–2000. Former Secretary of the Security Council. Sheiman remains a Special Assistant/Aid to the President."[3]
Ranks and titles
- On 6 December 1996 – Major General
- On 28 November 2000 – State Adviser of Justice, II class[4]
- On 25 November 2004 – State Adviser of Justice, I class[5]
- On 29 November 2004 – Higher Class of the Employee of Government Apparatus
Awards
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (2003)[6]
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland (1998)[7]
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour [8]
- Order of the Red Star
- Medal For Courage
Criticism
Viktor Sheiman has been criticized for using his position as Prosecutor General to close down by its action Court decision closed the main oppositional newspaper Svaboda. Political opposition groups and international human rights organizations accuse Sheiman of organizing "death squads" responsible for killing members of organized criminal groups, opposition politicians and Russian Channel One cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski. In 2006, he was placed on a list of over 40 members of the Belarusian government banned from entering the European Union and the United States for allegedly participating in the manipulation of the results of the presidential election; the ban was lifted in 2008.[9]
In 2018, Viktor Sheiman is under sanctions under the US and the EU. The United States extended the sanctions until June 2019, believing that Viktor Sheiman became a barrier to democratic processes in Belarus.[10] In February 2018, the EU extended the sanctions on Viktor Sheiman for a year. This provides for a ban on entry into the EU and blocking bank accounts.
Personal life
Viktor Sheiman is married, and has a son and a daughter.[11]
References
- ^ "Belarus and Venezuela will discuss cooperation in Minsk". БелаПАН. 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Sheiman named assistant to the President". Надежные программы. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ .Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP of 15 October 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Belarus, EUR-Lex, 2012
- ^ "President's Decree dated 28 November 2000". Банк законов. 2000-11-28. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "President's Decree dated 25 November 2004". Право. 2004-11-25. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Cavaliers of the Order of the Fatherland of the II degree". Анатолий Никитин. 2004–2008. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "President's Decree dated 26 May 1998". Право. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Photograph with the orders". ITAR-TASS. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "EU lifts Belarus travel ban". Al Jazeera. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Actions and Policies of Certain Members of the Government of Belarus and Other Persons to Undermine Democratic Processes or Institutions of Belarus (in English)
- ^ "Who is who in Belarus". Марат. 2007–2009. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-24.