Prime Minister of Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine
's head of government
presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government
.
While in office, the Prime Minister is granted full legal immunity
from all prosecutions and legal proceedings. The Prime Minister's office is headquartered in the Cabinet of Ministries building in central Kiev
. The Prime Minister was paid a yearly salary of 202,776 UAH
(US$26,770) in 2005.
Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union
in 1991, there have been 15 Prime Ministers (19 counting acting PMs). Mykola Azarov
is the incumbent Prime Minister as of March 11, 2010.
with the consent of Verkhovna Rada
. The consent is deemed granted by the parliament when a simple majority of its constitutional membership votes in favour of the candidate nominated by the President. The highest parliamentary approval to this date was received by Yulia Tymoshenko
who was appointed the Prime Minister on February 4, 2005 with 373 votes in the Verkhovna Rada
. Other prime ministers who received more than 300 votes were Vitold Fokin
(332) and Leonid Kuchma
(316).
The procedure of granting consent by the parliament is usually preceded by several days of comprehensive consultations and interviews of the candidate by the parliamentary factions. The approval by the legislature is not a mere formality. Some candidates were ratified by a narrow margin and a candidate may be turned down. For instance, in 1999, Valeriy Pustovoitenko
fell short of 3 votes to be re-confirmed after he tendered his resignation at the second inauguration of President Leonid Kuchma
in 1999. Kuchma chose Viktor Yushchenko
as his alternative candidate. Another example is the approval of Yuriy Yekhanurov
candidacy (he fell short of 3 votes to get approved and was confirmed on the second attempt 2 days later). When the constitutional reform of late 2004 was still valid (on October 1, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
overturned the 2004 amendments, considering the procedure of their approval unconstitutional), the President was restricted in his choice of the Prime Minister candidacy and was virtually obliged to nominate the person proposed by the parliamentary coalition.
The President may also dismiss any government minister or deputy minister (including the Prime-minister) at any time.
Prime Minister, as any members of executive branch, can not be a Member of Parliament.
and signs decrees passed by the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister has the authority to announce their candidacies to the Verkhovna Rada for ministry offices (with the exception of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
and the Minister of Defense
which are proposed by the President). The Prime Minister can also propose candidacies of heads of regional administrations to the President for consideration.
The Prime Minister can also countersign decrees and laws passed by the President. The constitution is silent on the exact regulation of the countersigning. The Prime Minister (and the respective minister) are responsible for the execution of laws passed by the Cabinet.
On May 13, 2010 Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
claimed that ninety percent of decisions taken by the second Tymoshenko Government
had not been implemented.
lost his post this way.
Before the constitutional reform of 2004, the Prime Minister was usually dismissed unilaterally by the President. After the reform, the Prime Minister could only be dismissed by the parliament. Formally, the Verkhovna Rada needed to pass a resolution of no confidence
in the Cabinet, which had to result in the PM's resignation. However, the parliament could not put the resolution on vote within one year after the approval of the Cabinet's official programme. The Cabinets of Prime Ministers Viktor Yushchenko
and Viktor Yanukovych
were dismissed this way with the latter refusing to tender his resignation to the President claiming a violation of the one-year period condition. The Cabinet of Yuriy Yekhanurov
had also been formally dismissed, but the parliamentary act was subsequently repealed. After the annulment of the constitutional reform the President once again has the right to dismiss the Prime Minister at any time at his or her own discretion, while the parliament still retains the right to pass a censure motion against the Cabinet which leads to obligatory resignation of the Cabinet.
With each new presidential term, the Prime Minister (and the Cabinet) are obliged to resign. While the Prime Minister does not have a set term limit, he or she stays in office for the duration of the President's term (unless he or she resigns or is dismissed earlier).
in 1991, there have been 15 Prime Ministers (19 counting acting PMs). Mykola Azarov
is the incumbent Prime Minister since March 11, 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko
was the first female prime minister in Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovych
has served two terms as the Prime Minister of Ukraine for the total of 1,277 days. Valeriy Pustovoitenko
has so far been the longest serving Prime Minister with uninterrupted service of 889 days.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government
Government of Ukraine
Government of Ukraine is often associated with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However it should be considered that Ukraine is a country under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government...
.
While in office, the Prime Minister is granted full legal immunity
Sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
from all prosecutions and legal proceedings. The Prime Minister's office is headquartered in the Cabinet of Ministries building in central Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. The Prime Minister was paid a yearly salary of 202,776 UAH
Ukrainian hryvnia
The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna ; sign: ₴, code: , has been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. In medieval times, it was a currency of Kievan Rus'....
(US$26,770) in 2005.
Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991, there have been 15 Prime Ministers (19 counting acting PMs). Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
is the incumbent Prime Minister as of March 11, 2010.
Appointment and dismissal
The Prime Minister is appointed by the PresidentPresident of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
with the consent of Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
. The consent is deemed granted by the parliament when a simple majority of its constitutional membership votes in favour of the candidate nominated by the President. The highest parliamentary approval to this date was received by Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
who was appointed the Prime Minister on February 4, 2005 with 373 votes in the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
. Other prime ministers who received more than 300 votes were Vitold Fokin
Vitold Fokin
Vitold Pavlovych Fokin , the son of a teacher, was appointed first deputy prime minister of Ukraine in November 1991....
(332) and Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
(316).
The procedure of granting consent by the parliament is usually preceded by several days of comprehensive consultations and interviews of the candidate by the parliamentary factions. The approval by the legislature is not a mere formality. Some candidates were ratified by a narrow margin and a candidate may be turned down. For instance, in 1999, Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Valery Pustovoitenko was confirmed as prime minister of Ukraine on 16 July 1997. Pustovoitenko was Ukraine's eighth prime minister. He resigned in connection with Leonid Kuchma's re-election for a new term. He is a former leader of the People's Democratic Party of Ukraine.-References:...
fell short of 3 votes to be re-confirmed after he tendered his resignation at the second inauguration of President Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
in 1999. Kuchma chose Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
as his alternative candidate. Another example is the approval of Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense in from 2007 to 2009...
candidacy (he fell short of 3 votes to get approved and was confirmed on the second attempt 2 days later). When the constitutional reform of late 2004 was still valid (on October 1, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
Constitutional Court of Ukraine
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine and decides whether laws and other legal acts are constitutional....
overturned the 2004 amendments, considering the procedure of their approval unconstitutional), the President was restricted in his choice of the Prime Minister candidacy and was virtually obliged to nominate the person proposed by the parliamentary coalition.
The President may also dismiss any government minister or deputy minister (including the Prime-minister) at any time.
Prime Minister, as any members of executive branch, can not be a Member of Parliament.
Duties and powers
The Prime Minister heads Ukraine's executive branch of government, the Cabinet of MinistersCabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
and signs decrees passed by the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister has the authority to announce their candidacies to the Verkhovna Rada for ministry offices (with the exception of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is the Ukrainian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine.-Historical overlook:...
and the Minister of Defense
Ministry of Defence (Ukraine)
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was established on September 24, 1991, one month after Ukraine's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The ministry was in charge of reorganizing all Soviet forces on the Ukrainian terrain under its command...
which are proposed by the President). The Prime Minister can also propose candidacies of heads of regional administrations to the President for consideration.
The Prime Minister can also countersign decrees and laws passed by the President. The constitution is silent on the exact regulation of the countersigning. The Prime Minister (and the respective minister) are responsible for the execution of laws passed by the Cabinet.
On May 13, 2010 Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
claimed that ninety percent of decisions taken by the second Tymoshenko Government
Second Tymoshenko Government
The second Tymoshenko Government was appointed on December 18, 2007 as a coalition between Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc , OU-PSD is the party of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, following the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election...
had not been implemented.
Vice-Prime Ministers
The Prime Minister has his First Vice-Prime Minister who heads the cabinet in the absence of the Prime Minister. Aside of the First Vice-Prime Minister there are several Vice-Minister who may be in charge of a ministry or a combination of several. In 1991–1992 there also was introduced an office of the State Minister-Minister. Traditionally Vice-Prime Ministers are in charge of a general state government policy vectors such as the Agro-Industrial Complex, Humanitarian Affairs, Economical Affairs, Regional Policy, others.Dismissal and resignation
The Prime Minister, as well as any other Cabinet member, may resign voluntarily by tendering their resignation to the President. A resignation by the Prime Minister results in the dismissal of the entire Cabinet. After the adoption of the current Constitution (1996), only Prime Minister Pavlo LazarenkoPavlo Lazarenko
Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko is a former Ukrainian politician and former Prime Minister who, in August 2006, was convicted and sentenced to prison in the United States for money laundering, wire fraud and extortion...
lost his post this way.
Before the constitutional reform of 2004, the Prime Minister was usually dismissed unilaterally by the President. After the reform, the Prime Minister could only be dismissed by the parliament. Formally, the Verkhovna Rada needed to pass a resolution of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in the Cabinet, which had to result in the PM's resignation. However, the parliament could not put the resolution on vote within one year after the approval of the Cabinet's official programme. The Cabinets of Prime Ministers Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
and Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
were dismissed this way with the latter refusing to tender his resignation to the President claiming a violation of the one-year period condition. The Cabinet of Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense in from 2007 to 2009...
had also been formally dismissed, but the parliamentary act was subsequently repealed. After the annulment of the constitutional reform the President once again has the right to dismiss the Prime Minister at any time at his or her own discretion, while the parliament still retains the right to pass a censure motion against the Cabinet which leads to obligatory resignation of the Cabinet.
With each new presidential term, the Prime Minister (and the Cabinet) are obliged to resign. While the Prime Minister does not have a set term limit, he or she stays in office for the duration of the President's term (unless he or she resigns or is dismissed earlier).
Prime Ministers of Ukraine (1991 – present)
Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991, there have been 15 Prime Ministers (19 counting acting PMs). Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
is the incumbent Prime Minister since March 11, 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
was the first female prime minister in Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
has served two terms as the Prime Minister of Ukraine for the total of 1,277 days. Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Valery Pustovoitenko was confirmed as prime minister of Ukraine on 16 July 1997. Pustovoitenko was Ukraine's eighth prime minister. He resigned in connection with Leonid Kuchma's re-election for a new term. He is a former leader of the People's Democratic Party of Ukraine.-References:...
has so far been the longest serving Prime Minister with uninterrupted service of 889 days.