List of presidents of Ukraine

The president of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, directly elected to a five-year term by voting eligible citizens of Ukraine. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The current office was formed when the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic passed a law on 5 July 1991 establishing the office of the "President of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic."^[1] Upon the declaration of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991, the title was changed to "President of Ukraine". The first presidential election held on 1 December 1991 was won by Leonid Kravchuk.

Every president of Ukraine except for Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been a People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada prior to their election, with Kuchma, Yushchenko, and Yanukovych all previously serving as Prime Minister and Kravchuk as well as acting president Turchynov previously serving as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

Kravchuk was the first president to resign from the office, following a power struggle with Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. After the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Viktor Yanukovych abandoned the office and fled the country. He was subsequently impeached and replaced by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov, who serves as acting president when the office is vacant. Early presidential elections were held on 25 May 2014 and won by Petro Poroshenko; Poroshenko was inaugurated as the fifth president on 7 June 2014. On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine.^[2] The sixth and current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who defeated Poroshenko in the 2019 presidential election and was inaugurated on 20 May 2019.

Presidents

List of presidents of Ukraine from 1991 – till date.
No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Term^[3]		Election	Cabinets
1	Leonid Kravchuk Леонід Кравчук (1934–2022) ^[4]	5 December 1991^[b] – 19 July 1994 2 years, 226 days	Independent	1991	Fokin (1990–92) Kuchma (1992–93)
2	Leonid Kuchma Леонід Кучма (1938–) ^[6]	19 July 1994 – 23 January 2005 10 years, 188 days	Independent	1994 1999	Masol II (1994–95) Marchuk (1995–96) Lazarenko (1996–97) Pustovoitenko (1997–99) Yushchenko (1999–2001) Kinakh (2001–02) Yanukovych I (2002–04)
3	Viktor Yushchenko Віктор Ющенко (1954–) ^[7]	23 January 2005 – 25 February 2010 5 years, 33 days	Our Ukraine	2004	Tymoshenko I (2005) Yekhanurov (2005–06) Yanukovych II (2006–07) Tymoshenko II (2007–10)
4	Viktor Yanukovych Віктор Янукович (1950–) ^[8]	25 February 2010 – 22 February 2014 3 years, 362 days	Party of Regions	2010	Azarov I (2010–12) Azarov II (2012–14)
—^[d]	Oleksandr Turchynov Олександр Турчинов (1964–) ^[9]	23 February 2014 – 7 June 2014 104 days	Fatherland	—^[d]	Yatsenyuk I (2014)
5	Petro Poroshenko Петро Порошенко (1965–) ^[10]	7 June 2014 – 20 May 2019 4 years, 347 days	Petro Poroshenko Bloc	2014	Yatsenyuk II (2014–2016) Groysman (2016–2019)
6	Volodymyr Zelenskyy Володимир Зеленський (1978–) ^[11]	20 May 2019 – Incumbent 5 years, 168 days	Servant of the People	2019	Groysman (2016–2019) Honcharuk (2019–2020) Shmyhal (2020–present)

Timeline

Social poll rankings

No.	President	Political party	2020^[12]	2021^[13]	Aggr.
1	Leonid Kravchuk	Independent	03	05	04
2	Leonid Kuchma	Independent	01	01	01
3	Viktor Yushchenko	Our Ukraine	06	06	06
4	Viktor Yanukovych	Party of Regions	05	04	05
5	Petro Poroshenko	Petro Poroshenko Bloc	04	03	03
6	Volodymyr Zelenskyy	Servant of the People	02	02	02

Notes

^ Reflects the president's political party at the start of their presidency. Changes during their time in office are noted.
^ Although Leonid Kravchuk's official inauguration ceremony was conducted on 5 December 1991, he carried out most of the presidential responsibilities temporarily ceded to him as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 24 August 1991^[5] until 5 December 1991, when he became President of Ukraine in his own right. He had previously served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR since 23 July 1990.
^ "In the event of the pre-term termination of authority of the President of Ukraine in accordance with Articles 108, 109, 110 and 111 of this Constitution, the execution of duties of the President of Ukraine, for the period pending the elections and the assumption of office of the new President of Ukraine, shall be vested in the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine." —Constitution of Ukraine, Article 112.
^ ^a ^b Turchynov was appointed acting president^[c] after Yanukovych's removal from office by parliamentary vote.

References

^ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1295-XII: On the President of the Ukrainian SSR (Про Президента Української РСР). Adopted on 5 July 1991. (Ukrainian)
^ Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank Archived 17 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (17 June 2015)
^ Boyko, O.D.; Girik, S.I.; Kyridon, A.M. (19 June 2022). Історія України: розпад СРСР. Доба Незалежності (1991–2021) [History of Ukraine: the collapse of the USSR. The Era of Independence (1991-2021)]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
^ Кравчук, Леонід Макарович [Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovych]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1430-XII: On granting additional powers to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Про надання додаткових повноважень Голові Верховної Ради України). Adopted on 24 August 1991. (Ukrainian)
^ "Leonid Kuchma: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Viktor Yushchenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Viktor Yanukovych: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Profile: Olexander Turchynov". BBC News Online. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Petro Poroshenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Volodymyr Zelensky: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
^ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.

External links

"The History of Presidency". Official website of the President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

[4] Reflects the president's political party at the start of their presidency. Changes during their time in office are noted.

[Kravchuk_years-7] Although Leonid Kravchuk's official inauguration ceremony was conducted on 5 December 1991, he carried out most of the presidential responsibilities temporarily ceded to him as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 24 August 1991^[5] until 5 December 1991, when he became President of Ukraine in his own right. He had previously served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR since 23 July 1990.

[temp_pres-11] "In the event of the pre-term termination of authority of the President of Ukraine in accordance with Articles 108, 109, 110 and 111 of this Constitution, the execution of duties of the President of Ukraine, for the period pending the elections and the assumption of office of the new President of Ukraine, shall be vested in the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine." —Constitution of Ukraine, Article 112.

[acting_president-12] Turchynov was appointed acting president^[c] after Yanukovych's removal from office by parliamentary vote.

[ussr-1] Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1295-XII: On the President of the Ukrainian SSR (Про Президента Української РСР). Adopted on 5 July 1991. (Ukrainian)

[yanunopres-2] Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank Archived 17 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (17 June 2015)

[3] Boyko, O.D.; Girik, S.I.; Kyridon, A.M. (19 June 2022). Історія України: розпад СРСР. Доба Незалежності (1991–2021) [History of Ukraine: the collapse of the USSR. The Era of Independence (1991-2021)]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.

[5] Кравчук, Леонід Макарович [Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovych]. vue.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). State Research Institution "Encyclopedia Press". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[6] Laws of Ukraine. Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine decree No. 1430-XII: On granting additional powers to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Про надання додаткових повноважень Голові Верховної Ради України). Adopted on 24 August 1991. (Ukrainian)

[8] "Leonid Kuchma: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[9] "Viktor Yushchenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[10] "Viktor Yanukovych: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[13] "Profile: Olexander Turchynov". BBC News Online. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[14] "Petro Poroshenko: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[15] "Volodymyr Zelensky: president of Ukraine". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[16] "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.

[17] "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.

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v t e President of Ukraine
Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1920)	Mykhailo Hrushevsky Volodymyr Vynnychenko Symon Petliura (Holovnyi Otaman)
West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919)	Kost Levytsky Yevhen Petrushevych
Hetmanate (1918)	Pavlo Skoropadskyi
Ukrainian People's Republic¹ (1920–1992)	Andriy Livytskyi Stepan Vytvytskyi Mykola Livytskyi Mykola Plaviuk
Ukrainian National Council² (1941)	Kost Levytsky
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic³ (1922–1991)	see First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine and Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Ukraine (since 1991)	Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Kuchma Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Yanukovych Oleksandr Turchynov (Acting) Petro Poroshenko Volodymyr Zelenskyy
¹Presidents of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile. ² Chairman of the Ukrainian National Council. ³During the Soviet period the republican leader was the 1st secretary of the party, while a head of state de jure was the chairman of the parliament's presidium.