List of presidents of Ukraine facts for kids
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The president of Ukraine is the country's main leader and head of state. This means they represent Ukraine to other countries around the world. People in Ukraine vote directly to choose their president for a five-year term. The president also leads the government's executive branch and is the top commander of Ukraine's armed forces.
The idea of having a president in Ukraine began on July 5, 1991. At that time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. After Ukraine declared its independence on August 24, 1991, the title changed to "President of Ukraine." The very first president, Leonid Kravchuk, was elected on December 1, 1991.
Most presidents of Ukraine, except for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were already members of the Ukrainian parliament (called the Verkhovna Rada) before they became president. Some, like Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Viktor Yanukovych, had even served as Prime Minister before. Leonid Kravchuk was the first president to leave office early. Later, in 2014, after some big changes in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych left his position. The head of the parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov, became the acting president for a short time. New elections were held on May 25, 2014, and Petro Poroshenko became the fifth president. He started his term on June 7, 2014. The sixth and current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who won the election in 2019 and began his term on May 20, 2019.
Ukraine's Presidents: A Historical List
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term dates | Term length | Party | Elections | Cabinets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .jpg) |
Leonid Kravchuk Леонід Кравчук (1934–2022) |
5 December 1991 – 19 July 1994 |
2 years, 226 days | Independent | 1991 | Fokin (1990–92) |
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| Kuchma (1992–93) |
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| 2 |  |
Leonid Kuchma Леонід Кучма (born 1938) |
19 July 1994 – 23 January 2005 |
10 years, 188 days | Independent | 1994 1999 |
Masol II (1994–95) |
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| Marchuk (1995–96) |
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| Lazarenko (1996–97) |
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| Pustovoitenko (1997–99) |
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| Yushchenko (1999–2001) |
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| Kinakh (2001–02) |
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| Yanukovych I (2002–04) |
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| 3 | .jpeg) |
Viktor Yushchenko Віктор Ющенко (born 1954) |
23 January 2005 – 25 February 2010 |
5 years, 33 days | Our Ukraine | 2004 | Tymoshenko I (2005) |
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| Yekhanurov (2005–06) |
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| Yanukovych II (2006–07) |
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| Tymoshenko II (2007–10) |
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| 4 | .jpg) |
Viktor Yanukovych Віктор Янукович (born 1950) |
25 February 2010 – 22 February 2014 |
3 years, 362 days | Party of Regions | 2010 | Azarov I (2010–12) |
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| Azarov II (2012–14) |
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| — |  |
Oleksandr Turchynov Олександр Турчинов (born 1964) |
23 February 2014 – 7 June 2014 |
104 days | Fatherland | — | Yatsenyuk I (2014) |
|
| 5 |  |
Petro Poroshenko Петро Порошенко (born 1965) |
7 June 2014 – 20 May 2019 |
4 years, 347 days | Petro Poroshenko Bloc | 2014 | Yatsenyuk II (2014–2016) |
|
| Groysman (2016–2019) |
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| 6 |  |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Володимир Зеленський (born 1978) |
20 May 2019 – Incumbent |
6 years, 51 days | Servant of the People | 2019 | ||
| Honcharuk (2019–2020) |
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| Shmyhal (2020–present) |
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When Did They Serve? A Timeline
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Ucrania para niños
- First Lady of Ukraine
- List of prime ministers of Ukraine, since 1917
- List of chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada, since 1938
- President of Ukraine (in exile) — Head of the UPR government in exile from 1921 to 1992
- List of leaders of Ukraine
