Serhiy Volodymyrovych Lyovochkin (Ukrainian: Сергій Володимирович Льовочкін; born 17 July 1972) is a Ukrainian politician, formerly a member of the Parliament of Ukraine. Over 20 years, he has held various leading posts in civil service as well as top corporate positions.[1]
Serhiy Lyovochkin | |
---|---|
Сергій Льовочкін | |
Head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine | |
In office 25 February 2010 – 17 January 2014 | |
President | Viktor Yanukovych |
Preceded by | Vira Ulianchenko |
Succeeded by | Andriy Klyuyev |
Personal details | |
Born | Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | 17 July 1972
Political party |
|
Spouse | Zinaida Kubar |
Children | daughter Elena sons Alex and Vladimir |
Alma mater | 1. Kyiv National Economic University 2. Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade |
Profession | economist, jurist |
Website | lovochkin |
Early life
editIn 1989 he graduated from the prestigious Kyiv school and entered the Kyiv Institute of National Economy (since 1992 Kyiv National Economic University), where he studied until 1993 and received a degree in economics, specialty "Accounting, control and analysis of economic activity." Then there until 1997, a graduate student, Department of Finance; PhD thesis "of US government debt." Candidate of Sciences (1997). In 1999-2002 he studied at the Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade, from which he graduated with a master's degree in the specialty "International law".
In 2004 he defended his doctoral thesis on "The economic growth in the context of the Macro-financial stabilization in Ukraine." Author of more than 30 scientific papers, including 2 monographs. Associate Professor of the Department of Finance in the alma mater.
Career
editHe began his career immediately after finishing graduate school in 1996, deputy chairman of the private bank.
In 1996–1999, the executive director of the Foundation to promote socio-economic development of the Donetsk region.
Since 1999, he entered the civil service. In the 1998 elections, he ran for the deputies of Ukraine in the electoral district in Donetsk region, lost, taking 2nd place.
Lovochkin has worked in administration of President Leonid Kuchma (1999-2004) where he led Group of advisors and economy reforming staff.
In the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election he had failed to do so for Lytvyn Bloc (Lytvyn Bloc had won no seats).[2]
In the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Lovochkin was elected into the Ukrainian parliament for Party of Regions.[2][a]
During his tenure as Head of Administration for President Victor Yanukovich (2010–2013),[4] Mr. Lovochkin had implemented significant government initiatives, including Program for economy reforms, Chernobyl new sarcophagus Program, Program of non-proliferation of nuclear materials.[5]
From 2011 to 2013 with liaison to Lyovochkin, Alan Friedman, Eckart Sager, who was a one time CNN producer, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's senior aide Konstantin Kilimnik devised a strategy to discredit Yulia Tymoshenko along with Hillary Clinton.[6] This effort supported the pro-Russia administration of then President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, especially during the parliamentary elections in the fall of 2012.[6]
On 30 November 2013, Lovochkin submitted a resignation letter as a gesture of disagreement with the violent actions against Maidan activists.[7][8]
On 1 February 2013, Lovochkin and his business associate Dmytro Vasylovych Firtash,[9] a Ukrainian natural gas magnate,[b] purchased Ukraine's Inter Media Group which owns the Ukrainian News and Inter television network, one of the most watched television channels in Ukraine.[9]
In 2014 after the revolutionary events of Euromaidan and to replace of the Progressive Democratic Party, he created a new party, the Party of Development of Ukraine[10] which has the same abbreviation in the Ukrainian language as the Party of Regions.
In September 2014, Paul Manafort traveled to Ukraine and supported the creation of a new Ukrainian political party Opposition Bloc.[3]
On 15 September 2014, following Manafort's advice, Lyovochkin's Party of Development of Ukraine united with 5 other parties to form the Opposition Bloc.[11][12]
In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election on 26 October, Lovochkin was re-elected into parliament placed 12th on the electoral list of Opposition Bloc.[13][14][15]
Lovochkin stated in October 2014 that Crimea was annexed by Russia in March 2014 because Russian President Vladimir "Putin was betrayed by our irresponsible leaders too many times, until he stopped taking Ukraine seriously".[16]
On 9 November 2018, Lovochkin's Party of Development of Ukraine co-chaired by Yuriy Boiko and the party For life led by Vadym Rabinovich signed a cooperation agreement for both the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election and the parliamentary election of the same year forming the Opposition Platform — For life.[17][18] Lyovochkin was excluded from the Opposition Bloc faction (the reason given was) "because they betrayed their voters" interests on 20 November 2018.[19]
Lovochkin was re-elected, placed 5th on the party list of Opposition Platform — For Life this time, in the 2019 parliamentary election.[20] His sister Yulia Lovochkin (Ukrainian: Юлія Льовочкіна) was also elected for the same party (22nd on the party list).[20]
On 23 March 2023, the Rada expelled Lyovochkin from the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. He is reported to have left the country immediately after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[21]
2016 Donald Trump campaign and Special Counsel investigation
editIn January 2019, Paul Manafort's lawyers submitted a filing to the court, in response to the Robert Mueller Special Counsel's accusation that Manafort had lied to investigators while supposedly co-operating with the investigation. Through an error in redacting,[22][23] the document[24] accidentally revealed that while Manafort was Donald Trump's campaign chairman, Manafort met with Konstantin Kilimnik, gave Kilimnik polling data related to Donald Trump's 2016 United States Presidential campaign, and discussed a Ukraine-Russia peace plan for the ongoing conflict in Donbas with Kilimnik. As a Russian Main Intelligence Directorate GRU agent, Konstantin Kilimnik is a known member of Russia's intelligence community.[25][c] Although most of the polling data was reportedly public, some was private Trump campaign polling data managed by Brad Parscale.[28][29][d] Manafort asked Kilimnik to pass the data to Ukrainians Rinat Akhmetov and Serhiy Lyovochkin.[30][31]
Academic work
editLyovochkin is the founder of the New Ukraine Institute of Strategic Research. At this time, the institute is focusing on such areas as reforms in Ukraine, environmental and humanitarian issues, Minsk peace reestablishment process.[32][33]
Lyovochkin has a Doctor degree in Economics (2004) and has authored 35 publications on economic issues.
He defended his thesis on the topics “National Debt of the United States of America" (1997) and “Macro-financial Stabilization in the Context of Economic Growth in Ukraine" (2004).
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Through Rinat Akhmetov and following the Orange Revolution, Paul Manafort began advising pro-Russia Victor Yanukovych in Yanukovych's quest to defeat his pro-Western rival Viktor A. Yushchenko.[3]
- ^ As a middleman for the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, Fyrtash funneled money into the campaigns of pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine.[3]
- ^ Manafort has rejected questions about whether Kilimnik, with whom he consulted regularly, might be in league with Russian intelligence.[26] According to Yuri Shvets, Kilimnik previously worked for the GRU, and every bit of information about Kilimnik's work with Manafort went directly to Russian intelligence.[27]
- ^ Eric Trump's wife, Lara (née Yunaska) Trump, was the liaison between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign headquarters in Trump Tower and Brad Parscale's Giles-Parscale company.[28][29]
References
edit- ^ "One Ukraine | Commentary". Roll Call. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ a b (in Russian)/(website has automatic Google Translate option) Short bio, LIGA.
- ^ a b c Myers, Steven Lee; Kramer, Andrew (31 July 2016). "How Paul Manafort Wielded Power in Ukraine Before Advising Donald Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Long-Time Yanukovych Loyalist Named Presidential Chief of Staff. RIA Novosti. 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Caretakers". The Economist. 12 March 2010. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ a b Harding, Luke (5 April 2018). "Former Trump aide approved 'black ops' to help Ukraine president: Paul Manafort authorised secret media operation that sought to discredit key opponent of then Ukrainian president". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Serhiy Lyovochkin: 'Conflicts of interest are everywhere', Kyiv Post (9 July 2010)
Lyovochkin resigns over draconian anti-democratic laws; others expected to quit soon, Kyiv Post (17 January 2014). - ^ "This Is the Change Ukraine Really Needs". Time. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ a b Herszenhorn, David M. (13 March 2016). "At Request of U.S., Austria Arrests Ukrainian Businessman". New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) The Party of Lyovochkin considers Ukrainian soldiers "punitive" and does not notice the annexation of the Crimea, UNIAN (11 August 2014).
- ^ Opposition Bloc chooses top ten candidates for parliamentary elections, Interfax Ukraine (23 September 2014)
Allies of Yanukovych trying for parliament, Kyiv Post (21 September 2014)
Party Of Regions Will Not Contest Snap Parliamentary Elections Independently, Ukrainian News Agency (14 September 2014). - ^ Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era, Kyiv Post (24 October 2014)
Development party of Ukraine, 'Ukraine - Forward!' and four more political forces team up in Opposition Bloc, Kyiv Post (15 September 2014)
Ukraine’s Elections: The Battle of the Billionaires, The Daily Beast (25 October 2014)
(in Ukrainian) Non-Maidan parties united into the Opposition Bloc. Radio Liberty. 14 September 2014. - ^ Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrinform (8 November 2014)
People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014). - ^ Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era, Kyiv Post (24 October 2014).
- ^ "Voters in Eastern Ukraine Must Be Given a Choice". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ Ukraine’s Elections: The Battle of the Billionaires, The Daily Beast (25 October 2014).
- ^ "Об'єднання Бойка-Рабіновича визначилося з кандидатом у президенти" [The Boyko-Rabinovich's union chose presidential candidate]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 17 November 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Раскол по расчету. Зачем Оппоблоку два кандидата на выборах: Ахметовская группа провела съезд Оппоблока, изменила устав партии и решил выдвинуть Вилкула в президенты. При этом Бойко и Левочкина не исключили" [Split calculation. Why Opposite Two Electoral Candidates: The Akhmetov group held a congress of the Oppoblock, changed the party’s charter and decided to nominate Vilkul for the presidency. At the same time, Boyko and Levochkin were not excluded]. LIGA (in Russian). 17 December 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Boiko, Loovochkin excluded from Opposition Bloc faction for betraying voters' interests — Vilkul". Interfax-Ukraine. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ a b Руденко, Сергій (Rudenko, Serhiy) (30 July 2019). "Велика рідня-2019. Хто кому кум, брат, син і донька у новій Верховній Раді" [Big Family-2019. Who to whom the godfather, brother, son and daughter in the new Verkhovna Rada]. Espreso TV (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Львочкіна виключили з Комітету з питань нацбезпеки". РБК-Украина (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Tillman, Zoe (8 January 2019). "Paul Manafort's Lawyers Tried To Redact A Court Filing About Whether Manafort Lied To Investigators. It Didn't Work: Manafort's lawyers filed a response to allegations by special counsel Robert Mueller's office that he lied after signing a plea deal. They tried to keep certain sections secret by redacting, but it was done incorrectly, making the information public". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Gilmer, Marcus (8 January 2019). "Paul Manafort's lawyers tried to redact a court filing but it didn't work. Oops". Yahoo News. Retrieved 29 October 2019 – via Mashable.
- ^ "Manafort Redacted Submission" (PDF). 7 January 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (18 August 2016). "Manafort's man in Kiev". Politico. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Stern, David (8 March 2017). "Authorities looked into Manafort protégé; An associate of an ex-Trump campaign chairman is suspected of connections to Russian intelligence". Politico. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Голицына, Наталья (3 March 2016). "Зачем Путину Трамп?". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ a b Glueck, Katie (7 June 2017). "The face of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ a b Horwitz, Jeff (27 February 2018). "Trump campaign chief lends name to penny stock tied to felon". Associated Press News. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Polantz, Katelyn (8 January 2019). "Mueller believes Manafort fed information to Russian with intel ties". CNN. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ LaFraniere, Sharon; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Haberman, Maggie (8 January 2019). "Manafort Accused of Sharing Trump Polling Data With Russian Associate". New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Avec le soutien de la France et de l'Allemagne, l'Ukraine doit appliquer les Accords de Minsk II, au nom de la paix". Le Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "The Right Peace for Ukraine". Retrieved 26 January 2017.
External links
edit- At Request of U.S., Austria Arrests Ukrainian Businessman. NY Times. 13 March 2014.
- Long-Time Yanukovych Loyalist Named Presidential Chief of Staff. RIA Novosti. 24 January 2014.