List of leaders of Ukraine

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		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		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		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

№	President		Elected	Took office	Left office	Party
1		Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk	1991	5 December 1991 (Inaugurated on 22 August 1992)^[c]	19 July 1994	Independent / Non-partisan
2		Leonid Danylovych Kuchma	1994	19 July 1994	14 November 1999	Independent / Non-partisan
			1999	14 November 1999	23 January 2005
3		Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko	2004	23 January 2005	25 February 2010	People's Union "Our Ukraine"
4		Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych	2010	25 February 2010	22 February 2014	Non-partisan[1] (Supported by Party of Regions)
—		Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov Acting President	—	23 February 2014	7 June 2014	All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"
5		Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko	2014	7 June 2014	Incumbent	Independent / Non-partisan

Living former heads of state

• Leonid Kravchuk, 82 (born 1934)
• Valentyna Shevchenko, 81 (born 1935)
• Leonid Kuchma, 77 (born 1938)
• Viktor Yanukovych, 65 (born 1950)
• Viktor Yushchenko, 62 (born 1954)
• Oleksandr Turchynov, 51 (born 1964)

See also

• List of Ukrainian rulers
• Prime Minister of Ukraine
• Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
• Monarchism in Ukraine

References

1. Янукович припинив членство у Партії регіонів : Новини УНIАН