List of leaders of Ukraine

This is a comprehensive chronological list of national leaders of Ukraine since its independence in 1917, including its presidents both before and after the Soviet era, and the Soviet leaders themselves, who, unlike the presidents, were not formal heads of state.

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Ukraine has had only eight presidents since 1917, divided into two periods (1917–1921 and 1991–present). In between, the country was a part of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) with the name of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Non-Soviet leaders of Ukraine 1917–1991

Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921)

The Ukrainian People's Republic was formed after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and lasted until the Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Russia in March 1921. The state leadership position title varied and, despite a rather widespread misconception, none of them had an official Presidential title.

No. Picture Name
(Birth–Death)		 Began office Left office Party Title(s)
— Volodymyr Pavlovych Naumenko
(1852–1919)		 17 (4) March 1917 28 (15) March 1917 Constitutional Democratic Party Chairman of the Central Rada
1 Mykhailo Hrushevsky
(1866–1934)		 28 (15) March 1917 [1] 29 April 1918 Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party Chairman of the Central Rada
2 Pavlo Skoropadskyi
(1873–1945)		 29 April 1918 14 December 1918 Ukrainian People's Hromada Hetman
3 Volodymyr Vynnychenko
(1880–1951)		 14 December 1918 11 February 1919 Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party Chairmen of the Directory
4 Symon Petliura
(1879–1926)		 11 February 1919 10 November 1920 Independent Chairmen of the Directory

Western Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919)

The government of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, which was proclaimed on 19 October 1918, united with the Ukrainian People's Republic on 22 January 1919, although this was mostly a symbolic act because the western Ukrainians retained their own Ukrainian Galician Army and government structure. After the Polish-Ukrainian War, Poland took over most of territory of the West Ukrainian People's Republic by July 1919.

No. Picture Name
(Birth–Death)		 Began office Left office Party Title(s)
1 Yevhen Petrushevych
(1863–1940)		 18 October 1918 22 January 1919 Ukrainian National Democratic Party President

Ukrainian People's Republic in exile (1920–1992)

In Paris and Prague to 1945; Munich 1945–1992 and New York City 1945–1946 and then in the last part of 1992:

No. Picture Name
(Birth–Death)		 Began office Left office Party Title(s)
1 Symon Petliura
(1879–1926)		 12 November 1920 25 May 1926 Independent President
2 Andriy Livytskyi
(1879–1954)		 25 May 1926 17 January 1954 Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party President
3 Stepan Vytvytskyi
(1884–1965)		 17 January 1954 9 October 1965 Independent President
4 Mykola Livytskyi
(1907–1989)		 9 October 1965 8 December 1989 Independent President
5 Mykola Plaviuk
(1925–2012)		 8 December 1989 22 August 1992 Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists President

Soviet leaders of Ukraine (1918/1921–1991)

Ukraine was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 30 December 1922.

Head of state

The nomenclature for the head of state position was changing. At first it was called as the chairman of the Central Executive Committee, then it was called as the Uprising Nine (Povstanburo) which was later reorganized into the Central Military-Revolutionary Committee (sort of revkom). In mid July 1918 there were some biases about the idea of the Ukrainian SSR, but with the help of more nationally inclined bolsheviks such as Skrypnyk, Zatonsky, and others the government of the Soviet Ukraine was preserved. After the defeat of Directoria the head of state was again called as the chairman of the Central Executive Committee. Since 1938 the position began to be called as the chairman of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada which was abolished in 1990. From 1990 to 1991 it was simply the head of the Verkhovna Rada until the introduction of the office of the President of Ukrainian SSR.

No. Picture Name
(Birth–Death)		 Began office Left office Party Title(s)
1 Yukhym Medvedev
(1886–1936)		 24 December 1917 18 March 1918 Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
2 Volodymyr Zatonsky
(1888–1938)		 18 March 1917 18 April 1918 Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
— Ukrainian Bureau For Directing
the Partisan Resistance Against
the German Occupiers		 18 April 1918 28 November 1918 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
— Georgy Pyatakov
(1890–1937)		 28 November 1918 29 January 1919 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
— Christian Rakovsky
(1873–1941)		 29 January 1919 10 March 1919 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
3 Grigory Petrovsky
(1878–1958)		 10 March 1919 10 March 1938 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
— Leonid Korniyets
(1901–1967)		 10 March 1938 25 July 1938 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee
— Mykhailo Burmystenko
(1902–1941)		 25 July 1938 27 July 1938 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) First speaker of Verkhovna Rada
4 Leonid Korniyets
(1901–1967)		 27 July 1938 28 July 1939 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
28 July 1939 14 January 1954 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
5 Demyan Korotchenko
(1894–1969)		 14 January 1954 7 April 1969 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
6 Oleksandr Liashko
(1915–2002)		 7 April 1969 8 June 1972 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
7 Ivan Hrushetsky
(1904–1982)		 8 June 1972 24 June 1976 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
8 Oleksiy Vatchenko
(1914–1984)		 24 June 1976 22 November 1984 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
9 Valentyna Shevchenko
(1935-2020)		 22 November 1984 4 June 1990 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Chairmen of the Presidium of Verkhovna Rada
10 Vladimir Ivashko
(1932–1994)		 4 June 1990 9 July 1990 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
— Ivan Plyushch
(1941–2014)		 9 July 1990 23 July 1990 Communist Party of Ukraine (bolshevik) Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

The Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine (CP(b)U) leaders
Main article: First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine

The following list is composed of the secretary of the Central Committee of the party who were the leaders of the Party. The position also was changing names between being called the First Secretary or the general secretary, depending on a political atmosphere in the Soviet Union. The position was not officially of the head of state, but certainly was very influential, especially within the republic. The longest serving secretary was Vladimir Shcherbitsky with some 17 years as the head of the Communist Party, the second best is split between Stanislav Kosior and Nikita Khrushchev, both of which have 11 years.

№ Secretary Took office Left office Deputy Congress
(1) Yurii Leonidovych Pyatakov 12 July 1918 9 September 1918 None 1
2 Serafima Ilyinichna Gopner 9 September 1918 22 October 1918 None
3 Emanuil Ionovich Kviring 23 October 1918 6 March 1919 None 2
(1) Yurii Leonidovych Pyatakov 6 March 1919 30 May 1919 None 3
4 Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior 30 May 1919 10 December 1919 None
— Rafail Borisovich Farbman
Acting		 10 December 1919 23 March 1920 None
5 Nikolai Ilyich Beschetvertnoi 23 March 1920 25 March 1920 None 4
— Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior
Acting		 25 March 1920 17 October 1922 None
6 Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov 23 November 1920 22 March 1921 Dmitriy Lebed 5
— Feliks Yakovlevich Kon
Acting		 22 March 1921 13 December 1921
7 Dmitry Zakharovich Manuilsky 14 December 1921 10 April 1923 6
(3) Emanuil Ionovich Kviring 10 April 1923 16 May 1924 7
17 May 1924 7 April 1925 Aleksei Medvedev 8
Ivan Klimenko
8 Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich 7 April 1925 12 December 1925
12 December 1925 29 November 1927 9
Aleksei Medvedev
29 November 1927 14 July 1928 10
(4) Stanislav Vikentevich Kosior 14 July 1928 15 June 1930
Lavrentiy Kartvelishvili
15 June 1930 23 January 1934 11
Vasiliy Stroganov
Mendel Khatayevich
Pavel Postyshev
23 January 1934 3 June 1937 12
Mendel Khatayevich
3 June 1937 27 January 1938 13
Sergei Kudryavtsev
9 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev
Acting until 18 June 1938		 27 January 1938 17 May 1940 Mikhail Burmistenko
Acting until 18 June 1938
14
17 May 1940 3 March 1947 15
Demian Korotchenko
(8) Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich 3 March 1947 26 December 1947
(9) Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev 26 December 1947 28 January 1949 Leonid Melnikov
28 January 1949 16 December 1949 16
10 Leonid Georgyevich Melnikov 16 December 1949 27 September 1952 Aleksei Kirichenko
27 September 1952 4 June 1953 17
11 Aleksey Illarionovich Kirichenko 4 June 1953 26 March 1954 Nikolai Podgorny
26 March 1954 21 January 1956 18
21 January 1956 26 December 1957 19
12 Nikolay Viktorovich Podgorny 26 December 1957 19 February 1960 Leontiy Naidek
19 February 1960 30 September 1961 Ivan Kazanets 20
30 September 1961 2 July 1963 21
13 Petro Yukhymovych Shelest 2 July 1963 18 March 1966 Nikolai Sobol
18 March 1966 20 March 1971 Oleksandr Liashko 22
Ivan Lutak
20 March 1971 25 May 1972 23
14 Vladimir Vasilyevich Shcherbitsky 25 May 1972 13 February 1976
13 February 1976 12 February 1981 Ivan Sokolov 24
12 February 1981 8 February 1986 25
Oleksiy Titarenko
8 February 1986 28 September 1989 26
Vladimir Ivashko
15 Vladimir Antonovich Ivashko 28 September 1989 23 June 1990 Stanislav Hurenko 27
16 Stanislav Ivanovich Hurenko 23 June 1990 1 September 1991 Leonid Kravchuk 28
Hryhoriy Kharchenko

Ukraine (1991–present)
Main article: List of presidents of Ukraine

On 5 July 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR passed a law establishing the post of the President of the Ukrainian SSR. The title was changed to the President of Ukraine upon the proclamation of independence (24 August 1991). The first election of the President of Ukraine was held on 1 December 1991.

  Non-partisan, without support or independent   People's Union "Our Ukraine"   Party of Regions   All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"   Petro Poroshenko Bloc   Servant of the People

Presidents of Ukraine Elected Took office Left office Party
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk 1991 5 December 1991
(Inaugurated on 22 August 1992)[c]		 19 July 1994 Independent / Non-partisan
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma 1994 19 July 1994 30 November 1999 Independent / Non-partisan
1999 30 November 1999 23 January 2005
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko 2004 23 January 2005 25 February 2010 People's Union "Our Ukraine"
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych 2010 25 February 2010 22 February 2014 Party of Regions
Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov
Acting President		 — 23 February 2014 7 June 2014 All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"
Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko 2014 7 June 2014 20 May 2019 Petro Poroshenko Bloc
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky 2019 20 May 2019 Incumbent Servant of the People

Living former heads of state

See also

References
  1. March 28 - The meeting of the Ukrainian Central Council, first chaired by Mykhailo Hrushevsky
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