List of ministers of defense (Ukraine)

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Міністр оборони України
Incumbent Andriy Taran since 4 March 2020
Member of	Cabinet National Security and Defense Council
Reports to	The President
Appointer	The President with Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Precursor	People's Commissar of Defense (1944-1945) and People's Minister of Military Affairs (1918-1927)
Inaugural holder	Kostiantyn Morozov
Deputy	First Deputy Minister

Main article: Ministry of Defence (Ukraine)

The Minister of Defense (Ukrainian: Міністр оборони, romanized: Ministr oborony) is Ukraine's head of the Ministry of Defence which is in charge of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the second biggest military power in Europe after its Russian counterpart.

Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there have been 13 Ministers (19 counting acting). Since 4 March 2020 Andriy Taran is Ukraine's Defence Minister. The Minister of Defense is appointed by the President, but this has to be confirmed by a majority vote in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament).

Since 1 January 2019, the post Minister of Defence has had the requirement of a civilian status.

List of Ministers of Defence

Ministers

Template:Ministers of Defense of Ukraine after Independence The longest-serving Minister of Defence is Oleksandr Kuzmuk who served for a total of 2,063 days.
The longest serving as an acting Minister of Defense is Valeriy Ivashchenko who served for a total 279 days (over 9 months).

First Deputy Ministers

Created on 27 May 1992, the office of deputy ministers was expanded on 4 June 1992 with the chief of the General Staff holding the post until 8 February 2002. Since 10 September 2003, the post was "demilitarized", held only by civilian or retired military personnel. The first deputy serves as an acting minister in absence of officially appointed minister unless specified otherwise.

• 27 May 1992 – 24 March 1993 Lieutenant General Ivan Bizhan (since 24 December 1991 a deputy minister; Chief of the General Staff since 25 September 1992)
• 4 June 1992 – 25 September 1992 Lieutenant General Vasyl Sobkov (Chief of the General Staff)
• 24 March 1993 – 10 February 1996 Colonel General Anatoliy Lopata (Chief of the General Staff)
• 12 March 1996 – 30 September 1998 Lieutenant General Oleksandr Zatynaiko (Chief of the General Staff)
• 14 March 1996 – 8 February 2002 Colonel General Ivan Bizhan
• 30 September 1998 – 13 November 2001 Colonel General Volodymyr Shkidchenko (Chief of the General Staff)
• 27 November 2001 – 8 February 2002 Colonel General Petro Shkulyak (Chief of the General Staff)
  • In 2002 — 2003 all deputies were replaced (phased away) by newly created posts of state secretaries, but after the reform was reverted.
• 25 January 2002 – 10 September 2003 Oleksandr Oliynyk
• 5 February 2002 – 14 August 2003 Colonel General Viktor Bannykh (on issues of international cooperation) (died in office)
• 10 September 2003 – ? November 2004 Oleksandr Oliynyk
• 13 September 2003 – 7 October 2004 Valentyna Hoshovska (humanitarian policy and relations with parliament)
• 5 October 2004 – 10 February 2005 Dmytro Rudkovskyi (governor of the office of Ministry of Defence)
• 6 October 2004 – 25 February 2005 Oleksandr Stetsenko
• 26 October 2004 – 25 February 2005 Volodymyr Bilyi (humanitarian policy and relations with parliament)
• 19 February 2005 – 23 January 2008 Leonid Polyakov
• 5 June 2009 – 26 May 2010 Valeriy Ivashchenko
• 31 March 2010 – 2 June 2010 Hryhoriy Pedchenko
• 18 August 2010 – 18 February 2012 Volodymyr Mozharovskyi
• 18 February 2012 – 5 March 2014 Oleksandr Oliynyk
• 15 September 2014 - present Ivan Rusnak

Earlier military ministers and secretaries

Historically, the ministry was preceding by various other governmental institutions. The very first Ukrainian representative in military affairs was Symon Petlyura, appointed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko to General Secretariat of Ukraine in the summer of 1917. Later in December 1917 after establishing the Bolshevik government in Kharkiv the Military Secretary of Ukraine was opposed by the Military Secretary of Soviet Ukraine whom the first was Vasyl Shakhrai. Note that the first ministers of Ukraine were not specialists in military affairs, particularly such as Mykola Porsh.

The Ukrainian People's Army was in terrible condition and it was not until the power in the country was taken over by the former head of the Russian Imperial Retinue and hereditary Ukrainian Cossack Pavlo Skoropadsky, under leadership of which the new minister became Aleksandr Rogoza (also known as Oleksandr Rohoza). Rogoza was instrumental in restructuring the ministry and recruiting numerous former Russian Imperial generals who pledged their allegiance to the government of Ukraine. By the end of 1918 Bolsheviks recreated the Ukrainian Soviet government and to its office of military affairs was appointed Nikolai Podvoisky, former narkom of Military Affairs of Soviet Russia who played a key role in the October Revolution. Around that time there was created the government of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, the office of military affairs of which was headed by Dmytro Vitovsky who was a specialist in special operations, particularly the mountain warfare. Vitovsky played a key role in securing the city of Lviv and ensuring the proclamation of independence of the new Ukrainian state from the disintegrating Austro-Hungary.

National ministers

Military Rank	Name	Term of Office
		Start	End
	Symon Petlyura	28 June 1917	1 January 1918
	Mykola Porsh	1 January 1918	17 January 1918
	Ivan Nemolovsky	18 January 1918	28 January 1918
	Oleksandr Zhukovsky	28 January 1918	29 April 1918
Major General	Oleksander Hrekov (temporary)	29 April 1918	3 May 1918
	Oleksandr Slyvynsky (temporary)	May 3, 1918	May 8, 1918
Major General	Oleksandr Lignau (temporary)	May 8, 1918	May 16, 1918
	Alexander Ragoza	May 16, 1918	November 14, 1918
	Borys Shutsky (temporary)	November 14, 1918	December 14, 1918
	Mykola Halahan	December 14, 1918	December 26, 1918
	Oleksander Osetsky	December 26, 1918	January 9, 1919
Major General	Oleksander Hrekov (temporary)	January 9, 1919	February 14, 1919
	Hryhoriy Syrotenko (acting)	February 14, 1919	February 22, 1919
Colonel	Oleksandr Shapoval	February 22, 1919	April 9, 1919
	Hryhoriy Syrotenko (acting)	April 9, 1919	June 20, 1919
	Hryhoriy Syrotenko	June 20, 1919	July 4, 1919
Major General	Oleksandr Shaible (temporary)	July 4, 1919	July 14, 1919
	Vsevolod Petriv (temporary)	July 14, 1919	November 5, 1919
Major General	Volodymyr Salsky	November 5, 1919	July 25, 1920
Colonel General	Oleksiy Halkin (temporary)	July 25, 1920	December 24, 1920
Colonel General	Mykola Yunakiv (temporary)	December 24, 1920	February 8, 1921
Lieutenant General	Serhiy Dyadyusha (temporary)	February 8, 1921	March 24, 1921
Lieutenant General	Mykhailo Pavlenko (temporary)	March 24, 1921	May 11, 1921
Major General	Marko Bezruchko (temporary)	May 23, 1921	August 5, 1921
Major General	Viktor Pavlenko (temporary)	August 5, 1921	November 15, 1921
Lieutenant General	Petro Yeroshevych (temporary)	November 3, 1921	November 14, 1921
Major General	Andriy Vovk (temporary)	14 November 1921	22 May 1922
Colonel General	Mykola Yunakiv	22 May 1922	1927
	Oleksandr Udovychenko

Ministers of Western Ukraine

• Dmytro Vitovsky
• Viktor Kurmanovych

Soviet appointees

• Vasyl Shakhrai
• Yuriy Kotsyubynsky
• Nikolai Podvoisky
• Valeriy Mezhlauk
• Vasyl Herasymenko

See also

• Prime minister of Ukraine
• Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine