Oleksandr Turchynov Facts for Kids

Positions in the Verkhovna Rada


Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
In office 22 February 2014 – 27 November 2014
Preceded by	Volodymyr Rybak
Succeeded by	Volodymyr Groysman
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office 12 May 1998 – 19 December 2007
Constituency	Hromada, No. 12 (1998–2002) Batkivshchyna, No. 7 (2002–2005) Batkivshchyna, No. 2 (2005–2007)
In office 12 December 2012 – 14 January 2015
Constituency	Batkivshchyna, No. 4 (2012–2015) People's Front, No. 3

Personal details

Born

31 March 1964 (age 61)
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Dnipro, Ukraine)

Political party

European Solidarity (2020–present)

Other political
affiliations

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1987–1991)
Hromada (1994–1999)
Batkivshchyna (1999–2014)
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (2001–2012)
Dictatorship Resistance Committee (2011–2014)
People's Front (2014–2019)

Spouse

Hanna Turchynova

Children

Alma mater

National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine

Signature

Military service

Allegiance

Ukraine

Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (born March 31, 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, and economist. He is best known for serving as the acting President of Ukraine in 2014 during a very important time in the country's history. He has held many high-ranking positions, including head of the Security Service of Ukraine and Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

Turchynov became the temporary president after President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. He led the country from February to June 2014, until Petro Poroshenko was elected. During that time, he was also the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (the speaker of Ukraine's parliament).

He has been a close political partner of Yulia Tymoshenko, another major Ukrainian politician. In 2014, he helped create a new political party called People's Front. Later, in 2020, he joined the party European Solidarity, led by former president Petro Poroshenko.

Early Life and Career
Political Career
- Acting President in 2014
- After the Presidency
Other Activities
Awards
Personal Life
See also

Early Life and Career

Oleksandr Turchynov was born in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, which is now called Dnipro. In 1986, he graduated from a university that focused on metalworking and went to work at a large steel factory.

From 1987 to 1990, he worked for the Komsomol, which was a youth group connected to the Communist Party. There, he worked with Serhiy Tihipko, and they both later became political advisors to Leonid Kuchma. When Kuchma became the Prime Minister of Ukraine in 1992, Turchynov moved to Kyiv and officially became Kuchma's advisor on the economy.

Turchynov also became a close ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, who was also from Dnipropetrovsk. They worked together in business and politics. In 1994, Turchynov helped create the political party Hromada.

Political Career

Turchynov, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tyahnybok with a coalition agreement before the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.

Turchynov and Oleh Tyahnybok in parliament, 24 February 2014

In 1998, Turchynov was elected to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, as a member of the Hromada party. A year later, he and Yulia Tymoshenko left Hromada to focus on their own party, Batkivshchyna (which means "Fatherland"). He was re-elected to parliament in 2002 and 2006.

On February 4, 2005, Turchynov was appointed the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), becoming the first civilian to ever lead the agency.

In 2008, he ran for mayor of Kyiv but came in second place.

After the government of Yulia Tymoshenko fell in March 2010, Turchynov served as the acting Prime Minister for one week until a new government was formed.

Acting President in 2014

In February 2014, during the final days of a series of protests known as Euromaidan, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from power. Because the constitution was changed back to its 2004 version, the speaker of parliament was next in line to lead the country.

On February 22, Turchynov was elected as the new speaker of parliament. The next day, he became the acting President of Ukraine. He also took command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was a very difficult time, as Russia was beginning its annexation of Crimea and supporting conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Turchynov's government had to respond to these challenges. He ordered a large-scale anti-terrorist operation to take back government buildings that had been captured by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine.

He served as acting president until Petro Poroshenko won the presidential election on May 25, 2014, and took office on June 7.

After the Presidency

On September 10, 2014, Turchynov helped create the new People's Front party. He was elected as the leader of his party's group in parliament in November 2014.

From December 2014 to May 2019, he served as the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, a key position for advising the president on defense and security issues.

In June 2020, Turchynov joined the European Solidarity party to help manage its campaign for local elections. He said he wanted to help train a new generation of leaders for Ukraine.

Other Activities

Besides politics, Turchynov is also a writer. In 2004, he published a book that was later made into a movie. The film was chosen as Ukraine's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008.

According to his official financial records in 2019, Turchynov owns a collection of old Bibles and paintings. He also holds the copyrights to his books and films.

Awards

Turchynov has received several awards for his service to Ukraine.

In 2014, he was awarded a pistol by the Minister of Internal Affairs for his service.
He has received other award weapons, including a Mauser C96 pistol.
In 2016, he was awarded a Maxim's machine gun model 1910.
In 2018, President Poroshenko awarded him the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, one of Ukraine's highest honors.

Personal Life

Oleksandr Turchynov is married to Hanna Turchynova, who is a dean at a university in Kyiv. They have one son, Kyrylo.

Turchynov is a Protestant Christian and is an elder at his church in Kyiv, where he sometimes preaches. Because of his strong actions as acting president in 2014, some people gave him the nickname "Bloody Pastor." He has said he finds the nickname better than some others given to world leaders.

Oleksandr Turchynov facts for kids

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