List of leaders of Ukraine
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Template:Politics of Ukraine (small) This is a comprehensive chronological list of national leaders of Ukraine since its independence in 1917, including its presidents both before and after the Soviet era, and the Soviet leaders themselves, who, unlike the presidents, were not formal heads of state.
Ukraine has had only eight Presidents since 1917, divided into two periods (1917–1921 and 1991–present). In between, the country was a part of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) with the name of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Non-Soviet leaders of Ukraine 1917–1991
Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921)
The Ukrainian People's Republic was formed after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and lasted until the Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Russia in March 1921. The state leadership position title varied and, despite a rather widespread misconception, none of them had an official Presidential title.
Chairman of the Central Rada (Council)
- Volodymyr Pavlovych Naumenko (4–27 March 1917) (acting for Hrushevsky)
- Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky (4 March 1917 – 29 April 1918) (arrived 27 March 1917)
Hetman of the Ukrainian State
- Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadsky (29 April – 14 December 1918)
Chairmen of the Directory
- Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko (14 December 1918 – 11 February 1919)
- Symon Vasylovych Petlyura (11 February 1919 – 7 May 1921) (provisional until 15 February 1919)
Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine (1939)
- Avgustyn Voloshyn (15 March 1939 – 16 March 1939)
Ukrainian People's Republic in Exile (1921–1992)
Presidents
In Paris and Prague to 1945; Munich 1945–1992:
- Symon Vasylovych Petlyura (7 May 1921 – 25 May 1926)
- Andrii Mykolaiovych Livytsky (25 May 1926 – 17 January 1954)
- Stepan Vytvytskyi (6 March 1954 – 22 March 1967)
- Mykola Andriiovych Livytsky (22 March 1967 – 8 December 1989)
- Mykola Vasylovych Plaviuk (8 December 1989 – 22 August 1992)
Western Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919)
The government of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, which was proclaimed on 19 October 1918, united with the Ukrainian People's Republic on 22 January 1919, although this was mostly a symbolic act because the western Ukrainians retained their own Ukrainian Galician Army and government structure. After the Polish-Ukrainian War, Poland took over most of territory of the West Ukrainian People's Republic by July 1919.
President of the Ukrainian National Council
- Yevhen Petrushevych (1 November 1918 – 22 January 1919)
Soviet leaders of Ukraine (1918/1921–1991)
Ukraine was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 30 December 1922.
Head of State
The nomenclature for the head of state position was changing. At first it was called as the chairman of the Central Executive Committee, then it was called as the Uprising Nine (Povstanburo) which was later reorganized into the Central Military-Revolutionary Committee (sort of revkom). In mid July 1918 there were some biases about the idea of the Ukrainian SSR, but with the help of more nationally inclined bolsheviks such as Skrypnyk, Zatonsky, and others the government of the Soviet Ukraine was preserved. After the defeat of Directoria the head of state was again called as the chairman of the Central Executive Committee. Since 1938 the position began to be called as the chairman of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada which was abolished in 1990. From 1990 to 1991 it was simply the head of the Verkhovna Rada until the introduction of the office of the President of Ukrainian SSR.
Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
- Yukhym Medvediev (25 December 1917 – 18 March 1918)
- Volodymyr Zatonsky (18 March 1918 – 18 April 1918) (the Ukrainian Republic was virtually liquidated)
- All-Ukrainian Bureau For Directing the Partisan Resistance Against the German Occupiers (18 April 1918 – 28 November 1918)
Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
- The heads of government (28 November 1918 – 10 March 1919)
- Hryhoriy Petrovsky (10 March 1919 – March 1938)
- Leonid Korniyets (March 1938 – 25 July 1938)
First speaker of Verkhovna Rada
- Mykhailo Burmystenko (25 July 1938 – 27 July 1938)
Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
- Leonid Korniyets (27 July 1938 – 28 July 1939)
- Mykhailo Hrechukha (28 July 1939 – 18 January 1954)
- Demyan Korotchenko (18 January 1954 – 7 April 1969)
- Oleksandr Liashko (7 April 1969 – 8 June 1972)
- Ivan Hrushetsky (8 June 1972 – 24 June 1976)
- Oleksiy Vatchenko (24 June 1976 – 22 November 1984)
- Valentyna Shevchenko (née Solianyk) (22 November 1984 – 4 June 1990) (acting until 25 March 1985)
Speaker of Verkhovna Rada
- Volodymyr Ivashko (4 June 1990 – 9 July 1990)
- Ivan Pliushch (9 July 1990 – 23 July 1990) (acting)
- Leonid Kravchuk (23 July 1990 – 5 December 1991)
The Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine (CP(b)U) leaders
The following list is composed of the secretary of the Central Committee of the party who were the leaders of the Party. The position also was changing names between being called the First Secretary or the General Secretary, depending on a political atmosphere in the Soviet Union. The position was not officially of the head of state, but certainly was very influential, especially within the republic. The longest serving secretary was Vladimir Shcherbitsky with some 17 years as the head of the Communist Party, the second best is split between Stanislav Kosior and Nikita Khrushchev, both of which have 11 years.
- Mykola Oleksiiovych Skrypnyk (20 April – 26 May 1918, Secretary of the Organizational Bureau)
| № | Secretary | Took office | Left office | Deputy | Congress | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Yurii Leonidovych Pyatakov | 12 July 1918 | 9 September 1918 | None | 1 |
| 2 | Serafima Ilyinichna Gopner | 9 September 1918 | 22 October 1918 | None | ||
| 3 | File:1988 CPA 5986 cropped.jpg | Emanuil Ionovich Kviring | 23 October 1918 | 6 March 1919 | None | 2 |
| 4 |
|
Yurii Leonidovych Pyatakov | 6 March 1919 | 30 May 1919 | None | 3 |
| 5 | 
|
Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior | 30 May 1919 | 10 December 1919 | None | |
| — | Rafail Borisovich Farbman Acting |
10 December 1919 | 23 March 1920 | None | ||
| 6 | Nikolai Ilyich Beschetvertnoi | 23 March 1920 | 25 March 1920 | None | 4 | |
| — |
|
Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior Acting |
25 March 1920 | 17 October 1922 | None | |
| 7 | 
|
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov | 23 November 1920 | 22 March 1921 | Dmitriy Lebed | 5 |
| — | Feliks Yakovlevich Kon Acting |
22 March 1921 | 13 December 1921 | |||
| 8 | 
|
Dmitry Zakharovich Manuilsky | 14 December 1921 | 10 April 1923 | 6 | |
| 9 | File:1988 CPA 5986 cropped.jpg | Emanuil Ionovich Kviring | 10 April 1923 | 16 May 1924 | 7 | |
| 17 May 1924 | 7 April 1925 | Aleksei Medvedev | 8 | |||
| Ivan Klimenko | ||||||
| 10 | Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich | 7 April 1925 | 12 December 1925 | |||
| 12 December 1925 | 29 November 1927 | 9 | ||||
| Aleksei Medvedev | ||||||
| 29 November 1927 | 14 July 1928 | 10 | ||||
| 11 |
|
Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior | 14 July 1928 | 15 June 1930 | ||
| Lavrentiy Kartvelishvili | ||||||
| 15 June 1930 | 23 January 1934 | 11 | ||||
| Vasiliy Stroganov | ||||||
| Mendel Khatayevich | ||||||
| Pavel Postyshev | ||||||
| 23 January 1934 | 3 June 1937 | 12 | ||||
| Mendel Khatayevich | ||||||
| 3 June 1937 | 27 January 1938 | 13 | ||||
| Sergei Kudryavtsev | ||||||
| 12 | 
|
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev Acting until 18 June 1938 |
27 January 1938 | 17 May 1940 | Mikhail Burmistenko Acting until 18 June 1938 | |
| 14 | ||||||
| 17 May 1940 | 3 March 1947 | 15 | ||||
| Demian Korotchenko | ||||||
| 13 | Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich | 3 March 1947 | 26 December 1947 | |||
| 14 |
|
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev | 26 December 1947 | 28 January 1949 | Leonid Melnikov | |
| 28 January 1949 | 16 December 1949 | 16 | ||||
| 15 | Leonid Georgyevich Melnikov | 16 December 1949 | 27 September 1952 | Aleksei Kirichenko | ||
| 27 September 1952 | 4 June 1953 | 17 | ||||
| 16 | Aleksey Illarionovich Kirichenko | 4 June 1953 | 26 March 1954 | Nikolai Podgorny | ||
| 26 March 1954 | 21 January 1956 | 18 | ||||
| 21 January 1956 | 26 December 1957 | 19 | ||||
| 17 | 
|
Nikolay Viktorovich Podgorny | 26 December 1957 | 19 February 1960 | Leontiy Naidek | |
| 19 February 1960 | 30 September 1961 | Ivan Kazanets | 20 | |||
| 30 September 1961 | 2 July 1963 | 21 | ||||
| 18 | File:Petro Shelest.JPG | Petro Yukhymovych Shelest | 2 July 1963 | 18 March 1966 | Nikolai Sobol | |
| 18 March 1966 | 20 March 1971 | Oleksandr Liashko | 22 | |||
| Ivan Lutak | ||||||
| 20 March 1971 | 25 May 1972 | 23 | ||||
| 19 | Vladimir Vasilyevich Shcherbitsky | 25 May 1972 | 13 February 1976 | |||
| 13 February 1976 | 12 February 1981 | Ivan Sokolov | 24 | |||
| 12 February 1981 | 8 February 1986 | 25 | ||||
| Oleksiy Titarenko | ||||||
| 8 February 1986 | 28 September 1989 | 26 | ||||
| Vladimir Ivashko | ||||||
| 20 | Vladimir Antonovich Ivashko | 28 September 1989 | 23 June 1990 | Stanislav Hurenko | 27 | |
| 21 | Stanislav Ivanovich Hurenko | 23 June 1990 | 1 September 1991 | Leonid Kravchuk | 28 | |
| Hryhoriy Kharchenko | ||||||
Ukraine (1991–present)
On 5 July 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR passed a law establishing the post of the President of the Ukrainian SSR. The title was changed to the President of Ukraine upon the proclamation of independence (24 August 1991). The first election of the President of Ukraine was held on 1 December 1991.
People's Union "Our Ukraine" Supported by the Party of Regions All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" Non-partisan, without support or independent
.jpg)
Living former heads of state
- Leonid Kravchuk, 90 (born 1934)
- Valentyna Shevchenko, 89 (born 1935)
- Leonid Kuchma, 86 (born 1938)
- Viktor Yanukovych, 74 (born 1950)
- Viktor Yushchenko, 70 (born 1954)
- Oleksandr Turchynov, 60 (born 1964)
See also
- List of Ukrainian rulers
- Prime Minister of Ukraine
- Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
- Monarchism in Ukraine