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Prime Minister of Ukraine Прем'єр-міністр України
Coat of arms of Ukraine
Incumbent Volodymyr Groysman since 14 April 2016
Appointer	President of Ukraine with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada
Term length	Duration of the parliamentary convocation (4 years)
Inaugural holder	Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Formation	June 28, 1917
Succession	None; resignation or removal renders cabinet illegitimate
Salary	₴20,000 per month
Website	www.kmu.gov.ua

The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Прем'єр-міністр України, Prem'ier-ministr Ukrayiny) is Ukraine's head of government,^[1] presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government. The position replaced the Soviet post of the Chairman of Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, which was established on March 25, 1946.

Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there have been sixteen prime ministers,^[2] or twenty, counting acting PMs. Arseniy Yatsenyuk was the first Prime Minister who came from Western Ukraine. Two prime ministers were born in the Russian SFSR.

The current prime minister is Volodymyr Groysman since he was sworn on 14 April 2016.^[3]

Appointment

The prime minister is appointed by the president with the consent of the 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 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 Arseniy Yatsenyuk (371), Yatsenyuk again in 2014 (341)^[4]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 three votes short of being 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's candidacy (he fell three votes short of approval, but was confirmed on the second attempt two days later).

After the constitutional reform of late 2004, the president was restricted in his choice of prime minister and was virtually obliged to nominate the person proposed by the parliamentary coalition. The prime minister, as with all members of executive branch, cannot be a member of parliament.

Duties and powers

U.S. President Barack Obama talks with then-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the conclusion of their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, March 12, 2014.

The Prime Minister heads Ukraine's executive branch of government, the Cabinet of Ministers and signs decrees passed by the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister has the authority to propose candidates for ministry offices to the Verkhovna Rada,^[5] 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 candidates for the heads of regional administrations to the president for consideration.^[5]

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.

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 (16,898/month) (US$26,770) in 2005.^[6] In 2013, following a petition in Fokus magazine, the secretariat of the cabinet stated that the monthly salary of Prime Minister was 33,980 UAH (US$4,173.42), which is eleven times more than the average salary in the country.^[7]

Prime Ministers are frequently asked by individual citizens for help in solving their personal problems, sometimes successfully. In 2012, Prime Minister Azarov received dozens of personal pleas every day on his Facebook page.^[8] By-passing local Governments is an age-old practice in Ukraine.^[8]

Acting and Vice-Prime Ministers

Oleksandr Turchynov served as Acting Prime Minister in 2010 after Yulia Tymoshenko tendered her government's resignation.

The First Vice-Prime Minister, also known as the First Deputy, heads the cabinet in the absence of the prime minister due to resignation or dismissal. Among the most notable First deputies were Yukhym Zvyahilsky and Mykola Azarov, who served as the acting Prime Minister for a longer period of time than anyone else. Valentyn Symonenko, Vasyl Durdynets, Oleksandr Turchynov and others also served as acting Prime Minister.

Apart from the First Vice-Prime Minister, there are also several other vice-ministers who support the Prime Minister and may be in charge of one or more ministries. In 1991–1992 the office of the State Minister was also introduced. Traditionally Vice-Prime Ministers are in charge of an area of general state government policy such as the Agro-Industrial Complex, Humanitarian Affairs, Economic Affairs, or Regional Policy. On certain occasions, those deputies may be given regular ministerial portfolios as well, as happened in the 2010 Azarov Government.

Dismissal and resignation

The Prime Minister, like other Cabinet members, 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 in 1996, only Prime Ministers Pavlo Lazarenko and Mykola Azarov have left their post this way.^[9] While the Prime Minister does not have a set term limit, he or she stays in office for the duration of the parliament term, unless he or she resigns or is dismissed earlier.

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 of the cabinet, which had to result in the prime minister's resignation. However, the parliament could not put such a resolution to the vote within one year of the approval of the cabinet's official programme. The Cabinets of Prime Ministers Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were dismissed in 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.

List of Prime Ministers (1991–present)

Ukraine
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Ukraine
Constitution
Government President Petro Poroshenko Presidential Administration National Security and Defense Council Presidential representatives Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman Cabinet Cabinet of Ministers Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Chairman: A. Parubiy Committees Imperative mandate Political events Declaration / Proclamation of Independence Cassette Scandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia-Ukraine gas disputes Universal of National Unity Political crises of 2007 2008 Annexation of Crimea by Russia Foreign relations Countries Austria Belarus Canada China Georgia Germany Greece Iceland India Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Malta Moldova Montenegro Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia South Africa Sweden Transnistria United Kingdom United States International organizations CIS European Union GUAM NATO Diplomatic missions of Ukraine in Ukraine Foreign relations of Ukraine
Judiciary Constitutional Court Supreme Court Prosecutor General
Elections Central Election Commission Political parties Recent elections Presidential 2014 2010 2004 1999 Parliamentary 2012 2007 2006 2002 Local 2014 (Kiev) 2010 2009 (Ternopil) 2008 (Kiev) Referendums 2000 1991 (Dec) 1991 (March)
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v t e

Since Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there have been 15 prime ministers^[2] (19 including acting PMs). Yulia Tymoshenko was the first (and only) female Prime Minister of Ukraine.^[10] Before the re-appointment as Prime Minister of Mykola Azarov, Tymoshenko was the longest serving prime minister serving for two terms and a total of 1,029 days (days serving as acting Prime Minister are not included in these numbers).^[11] Since Azarov was re-appointed as prime minister on 13 December 2012, he has since broken Tymoshenko's record.^[12][13] Azarov resigned on 28 January 2014, due to public outcry and protests following the Euromaidan.^[14] He was succeeded up by Arseniy Yatsenyuk on 27 February 2014.^[15] Yatsenyuk announced he would resign as Prime Minister on 24 July 2014;^[15] but his resignation was declined by parliament on 31 July 2014 when only 16 (of the 450) MPs voted for his resignation.^[16][17]

Timeline

Parliamentary approval

References

External links

• 
  "Official page of Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  


• 
  "Government portal". Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (in Ukrainian).