Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is the fifth and current President of Ukraine, in office since 2014. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Trade and Economic Development in 2012.
Background
Poroshenko was born in the city of Bolhrad, in Odessa Oblast, on 26 September 1965 to Oleksij Ivanovich Poroshenko and Evgenia Sergeevna (née Grigorchuk). His father, Oleksij Poroshenko, was an engineer and later government official who managed several factories during the Soviet rule in Ukraine. In some sources, it is asserted that the real surname of Poroshenko’s father is Walzman. Ostensibly, Alexeydisowned his Jewish name and took the name of his wife to ensure unhindered career advancement. Little is known about his mother but a Ukrainian newspaper said she was an accountant, who taught at a vocational and technical school of accounting. He also spent his childhood and youth in Bendery (Moldavian SSR, now under de facto control of the unrecognized breakaway state Transnistria) where his father Oleksij was heading a machine building plant.
Education
At the local school, the boy was not a straight-A student, but he did well. He was good in mathematics and French. That’s why classmates jokingly changed his name in the French manner and called him Pierre until graduation.
In the graduate class, it was hard to choose for a young man between the career of a diplomat and the profession of a sailor. As a result, he immediately entered the two universities: MGIMO and Kiev State University of Shevchenko (Faculty of International Relations and Law). He gave preference to the second one. It is interesting that he befriended with Mikhail Saakashvili at the university. Then Petro was fond of freestyle wrestling and judo and deserved the title of master of sports.
In 1998, Poroshenko received a deputy mandate of the United Social-Democratic Party of Ukraine (SDPUO). He dedicated the faction two years. Then Poroshenko left after realizing that Viktor Medvedchuk and GrigorySurkis took the dominant positions in the party instead of Poroshenko's supporters Leonid Kravchuk and VasilyOnopenko. Having left the SDPU, he founded his own Solidarity Party.
In 2002, Petro Poroshenko became a member of the «Our Ukraine» faction. Later he was in charge of the election campaign of Viktor Yushchenko. By the way, Poroshenko and Yushchenko are connected not only by politics but also by strong friendship as they are godfathers. Petro took an active part in the development of the Orange Revolution and is one of its main financial guarantors. During this period, he responded to Yushchenko's proposal to share business and political activities, he transferred the formal control of Ukrprominvest to his father. In 2005, he was a secretary of the National Security Council but resigned due to scandalous events. He and his team, including Nikolay Martynenko, Alexander Tretyakov, and David Zhvania, were accused of corruption and propaganda of personal interests.
In 2006, Poroshenko held a leading position in the committee, which solves issues of banking and financial activity. In 2007, he held the high post of the Council of the Ukraine National Bank. In October 2009, Petro became Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, having worked for this position for a year. On March 23, 2012, President Viktor Yanukovych entrusted Poroshenko with the post of Minister of Economy and Trade of Ukraine.
Poroshenko was a supporter of Ukraine's European integration and became an active participant in the events of the Maidan (2013-2014). He helped the revolutionaries with money and interacted with Vitali Klitschko. Poroshenko sponsored the reconstruction of the Maidan after the armed clashes.
After the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, extraordinary presidential elections were held. On May 25, 2014, Ukrainians were to vote for one of the 23 candidates, among which were Yulia Tymoshenko, OlegLyashko, and non-party candidate Petro Poroshenko. With a low turnout (59.5%), Petro Poroshenko won and Received a majority of votes (54.7%).
The inauguration of the president took place on June 7. More than 60 foreign delegations, including 23 heads of other states took part in the high day. During the speech, Poroshenko singled out the main directions of his activity: to preserve and strengthen Ukraine, to return the Crimea, to ensure the country's membership in the European Union, and to increase Ukraine's military power.
Achievements
Religion
Poroshenko is a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Poroshenko has financed the restoration of its buildings and monasteries. In high-level meetings he is often seen with a crucifix.
Politics
On 7 December 2015 Poroshenko had a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Kiev to discuss Ukrainian-American cooperation. He met Donald Trump in June 2017; the BBC accused him of paying Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen between 400,000 and 600,000 dollars to organize this meeting.
In June 2014 Poroshenko forbade any cooperation with Russia in the military sphere.
At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 26 June 2014 Poroshenko stated that bilateral relations with Russia cannot be normalized unless Russia undoes its unilateral annexation of Crimea and returns its control of Crimea to Ukraine.
On Poroshenko's June 2014 Peace plan for Eastern Ukraine Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented "it looks like an ultimatum."
On 26 August 2014 Poroshenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk where Putin called on Ukraine not to escalate its offensive. Poroshenko responded by demanding Russia halt its supplying of arms to separatist fighters. He said his country wanted a political compromise and promised the interests of Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine would be considered.
Poroshenko also stated that the day was "Ukraine's most historic day since independence in 1991", describing it as a "symbol of faith and unbreakable will". He saw the signing as the start of preparations for Ukrainian EU Membership
At his speech at the opening session of the new parliament on 27 November 2014 Poroshenko stated "we've decided to return to the course of NATO integration" because "the nonalignment status of Ukraine proclaimed in 2010 couldn't guarantee our security and territorial integrity". The Ukrainian parliament on 23 December 2014 voted 303 to 8 to repeal a 2010 bill that had made Ukraine a non-aligned state in a bill submitted by Poroshenko. On 29 December 2014 Poroshenko vowed to hold a referendum on joining NATO. On 22 September 2015 Poroshenko claimed that "Russia's aggressive actions" proved need for the enlargement of NATO and that the Ukrainian referendum on joining NATO would be held after "every condition for the Ukrainian compliance with NATO membership criteria" was met by "reforming our country".
On 2 February 2017, in an interview with Funke Mediengruppe, Poroshenko announced he was planning a referendum on whether Ukraine should join NATO.
Poroshenko was criticized by Committee to Protect Journalists for signing a decree which banned 41 international journalists and bloggers from entering Ukraine for one year, being labeled as threats to national security. The list includes three BBC journalists, and two Spanish journalists currently missing in Syria, all of whom previously covered the Ukraine crisis.
Views
Petro was interested in business since his studies at university. In the late 80's, he created a cooperative along with classmates. A company was specializing in sales of cocoa beans. Some of Poroshenko’s classmates argue that the first venture of Petro was a video store, which provided super-profit due to videotapes with latest Hollywood movies. Many of his classmates remember how Petro became the owner of the «Volga» at the last year. A student with a personal car seemed at that time like something incredible. The money from the sale of cocoa enabled him to buy up a number of confectionery enterprises close to bankruptcy. They were later united in the ROSHEN concern and today it's known as the largest producer of sweets in Ukraine. The name was invented by his wife: «Po Roshen-Co». Ironically, but Poroshenko himself does not eat his produce as he has diabetes.
The "Chocolate King" was a major supporter of the anti-government protestors in Ukraine. Despite taking a revenue hit, when his products were effectively banned from Russia, Poroshenko continues to focus on external markets, particularly in the EU, where he opened his first shop in Budapest.
On 15 May 2015 Poroshenko signed a bill into law that started a six months period for the removal of communist monuments and the mandatory renaming of streets and other public places and settlements with a name related to Communism. According to Poroshenko "I did what I had to"; adding "Ukraine as a state has done its job, then historians should work, while the government should take care of the future". Poroshenko believes that the communist repression and Holodomor of the Soviet Union are on par with the Nazi crimes of the 1940s. The legislation (Poroshenko signed on 15 May 2015) also provides "public recognition to anyone who fought for Ukrainian independence in the 20th century", including the controversial Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) combatants led by Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera.
On 23 March 2015 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accepted the resignation of billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky as governor of Dnipro region over the control of oil companies. "There will be no more oligarchs in Ukraine," Poroshenko said adding that "oligarchs must pay more [taxes] than the middle class and more than small business." The president underscored that "the program of de-oligarchization will be put into life". Poroshenko promised that he will fight against the Ukrainian oligarchs.
In December 2018, President Poroshenko confirmed the status of veterans and combatants for the independence of Ukraine for the armed units of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Corruption is a widespread and growing problem in Ukrainian society. Poroshenko has signed a decree to create the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to comply with the requirements of the International Monetary Fund.
Quotations:
Poroshenko objected to being called an oligarch, stating that "Oligarchs are people who seek power in order to further enrich themselves. But I have long fought against bandits who are robbing our country and have destroyed free enterprise."
Membership
He was initially a member of the United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (SDPU), the party led by Viktor Medvedchuk and loyal to president Leonid Kuchma at the time. Poroshenko left SDPU(o) in 2000 to create an independent left-of-center faction and then a party, naming it Party of Ukraine's Solidarity (PSU). In 2001 Poroshenko was instrumental in creating the Party of Regions, also loyal to Kuchma; the Party of Ukraine's Solidarity having merged into the Party of Regions, Poroshenko launched a new party with a similar name, the party "Solidarity.
In 2002, Petro Poroshenko became a member of the «Our Ukraine» faction.
Between 1999 and 2012 he was a board member of the National Bank of Ukraine.
He also became a member of the committee on European Integration.
National Bank of Ukraine
1999 - 2012
Personality
He speaks fluent Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Romanian.
Petro Poroshenko is diabetic.
Connections
Poroshenko has been married to Maryna since 1984. The couple have four children: Olexiy (born 1985), the twins Yevheniya and Oleksandra (born 2000) and Mykhaylo (born 2001). Olexiy was a representative in the regional parliament of Vinnytsia Oblast. In November 2014, he became People's Deputy of Ukraine.