Ukraine, a former Soviet satellite, has developed into a semi-presidential republic with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

Political System

Ukraine is considered a republic under a semi-presidential system, with the seat of government centered in the capital city, Kyiv. The country declared its independence from Soviet Russia on January 22, 1918, and again on August 24, 1991 from the Soviet Union. The republic officially celebrates its independence on August 24.

Ukraine’s current constitution was originally adopted on June 28, 1996. The document allows for universal suffrage at 18 years of age.

Administrative Regions

Ukraine consists of 24 provinces (oblasti), one autonomous republic (avtonomna respublika), and two cities with oblast status:

• Cherkasy Oblast
• Chernihiv Oblast
• Chernivtsi Oblast
• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
• Donetsk Oblast
• Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
• Kharkiv Oblast
• Kherson Oblast
• Khmelnytskyi Oblast
• Kyiv Oblast
• Kirovohrad Oblast
• Luhansk Oblast
• Lviv Oblast
• Mykolaiv Oblast
• Odessa Oblast
• Poltava Oblast
• Rivne Oblast
• Sumy Oblast
• Ternopil Oblast
• Vinnytsia Oblast
• Volyn (Volhynia) Oblast
• Zakarpattia (Transcarpathian) Oblast
• Zaporizhia Oblast
• Zhytomyr Oblast
• Autonomous Republic of Crimea
• Kyiv (City)
• Sevastopol (City)

Executive Branch

The President is Ukraine’s chief of state. This person is elected by popular vote to a five year term, and is eligible for a second term. Viktor Yushchenko, the current President, was elected in late 2004 after a controversial election and the subsequent Orange Revolution. He officially assumed the duties of the presidency on January 23, 2005.

The head of government is the Prime Minister, typically named by the majority party or group in Parliament. Yulia Tymoshenko, the current Prime Minister, began her official duties on December 18, 2007. Her First Deputy Prime Minister is Oleksandr Turchynov, and the vice-Prime Ministers are Ivan Vasyunyk and Hryhoriy Nemyrya.

All members of the Cabinet of Ministers are selected by the Prime Minister, except the foreign and defense ministers, who are chosen by the President. The current ministers are:

• Agrarian Policy - Yuriy Melnyk
• Coal Industry - Viktor Poltavets
• Culture and Tourism - Vasyl Vovkun
• Defense - Yuriy Yekhanurov
• Economics - Bohdan Danylyshyn
• Education and Science - Ivan Vakarchuk
• Emergencies and Affairs of Population Protection from the Consequences of the Chornobyl Catastrophe - Volodomyr Shandra
• Environmental Protection - Heorhiy Phillipchuk
• Family, Youth and Sport - Yuriy Pavlenko
• Finance - Viktor Pynzenyk
• Foreign Affairs - Volodymyr Ohryzko
• Fuel and Energy - Yuriy Prodan
• Health - Vasyl Knyazevych
• Housing and Communal Services - Oleksiy Kucherenko
• Industrial Policy - Volodymyr Novytsky
• Interior - Yuriy Lutsenko
• Justice - Mykola Onishchuk
• Labor and Social Policy - Lyudmyla Denysova
• Regional Development and Building - Vasyl Kuybida
• Transport and Communications - Yosyp Vinsky

• Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers - Petro Krupko

Legislative Branch

The Ukrainian Parliament or Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada) is a unicameral body consisting of 450 officials. Members are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that receive at least 3% of the national electoral vote. Each member serves a five year term.

The current structure of the Parliament, by political party is (number of seats):

• Party of Regions - 175
• Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc - 156
• Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc - 72
• Communist Party (CPU) - 27
• Lytvyn Bloc - 20

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc have formed an alliance, providing the group with a slim majority in the Verkhovna Rada.

Judicial Branch

The country’s judicial branch consists of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. Judicial appointments for the Constitutional Court used to be for six years, but as of August 2006, the terms are considered indefinite.

Legal System

The Ukrainian legal system is based on civil law, with judicial review of legislative acts. The country has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.

References

Barrientos, Miguel. Index Mundi. 2007.

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Official Website.

Web Portal of Ukrainian Government.