Honcharuk Government

The Honcharuk government was formed on 29 August 2019, and was led by Oleksiy Honcharuk.[1] It was the fourth Ukrainian cabinet formed since the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, following the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election.

Honcharuk Government
20th Cabinet of Ukraine (since 1990)
Date formed29 August 2019
Date dissolved4 March 2020
People and organisations
Head of stateVolodymyr Zelensky
Head of governmentOleksiy Honcharuk
Member partiesServant of the People
Status in legislatureMajority
Opposition partiesOpposition Platform — For Life
European Solidarity
Fatherland
Voice
Opposition leadersYuriy Boyko
Vadim Rabinovich
Petro Poroshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk
History
Election(s)2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Legislature term(s)5 years
PredecessorGroysman Government
SuccessorShmyhal Government

History

Appointment of Honcharuk as Prime Minister

The appointment of Honcharuk as the Prime Minister of Ukraine was approved by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) on 29 August 2019.[2] Honcharuk at the time of his appointment was a deputy chairperson of the Presidential Office of Ukraine.[2] 290 People's deputies voted for his candidacy, while the members of most of the other factions (Opposition Platform — For Life, European Solidarity, Fatherland, and Voice) did not support it.[2]

Faction Yes[2] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 247 0 0 4 251
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 0 42 42
European Solidarity 0 26 0 1 27
Fatherland 0 0 12 11 23
For the Future 22 0 0 0 22
Voice 0 0 13 4 17
Non-affiliated 21 1 10 4 36
All factions 290 27 35 66 418

From the podium, the newly elected Prime Minister stated that in the upcoming years, each third hryvnia would go towards settling debts.[2] The Prime Minister considered that the main indicator of business attractiveness had to become access to cheaper resources.[2] Honcharuk promised to take control of the credit rate and Ukraine's image.[2] He considered that credit with a 12-13 annual percentage rate is a reality.[2] At the time of Honcharuk's appointment, 10 million Ukrainians lived below the poverty line and corruption continued to flourish.[2]

In the new government no one will be stealing... Within a few weeks Ukraine will be visited by the IMF mission and we will negotiate a new agreement... In Ukraine we have an inadequate minimal living wage, it is impossible to survive on these wages.

— Oleksiy Honcharuk, the Verkhovna Rada podium[2]

Criticism
  • Opposition Platform — For Life said that the main task of the Prime Minister should not be Ukraine's image nor its economic development but ending the War in Donbass.[2]
  • European Solidarity questioned the transparency of the selection of the Prime Minister candidate.[2]
  • The leader of Fatherland, Yulia Tymoshenko told journalists on 29 August 2019 that even though her party did not support the appointment of Honcharuk, her party would support the government (working outside the majority) and would not sit on the opposition benches. Less than three months later, the party moved into opposition due to its disagreement with the government's plan to remove the long-standing moratorium on selling agricultural land.[3]
  • Voice did not support the appointment of Honcharuk as Prime Minister because it was not informed about the composition of the rest of the government.[2]

Appointment of Bakanov to lead the Security Service of Ukraine

On 29 August 2019, the Ukrainian parliament also approved the appointment of Ivan Bakanov as Head of the Security Service of Ukraine.[4]

Faction Yes[5] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 248 0 1 1 252
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 0 35 43
European Solidarity 0 26 1 0 27
Fatherland 21 0 0 0 24
For the Future 21 0 0 1 22
Voice 0 0 16 1 17
Non-affiliated 29 0 4 3 37
All factions 319 26 22 41 408

Appointment of Riaboshapka to lead the General Prosecutor's Office

Ruslan Riaboshapka replaced Yuriy Lutsenko as Prosecutor General of Ukraine on 29 August 2019.[6]

Faction Yes[7] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 243 0 0 4 247
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 0 27 43
European Solidarity 0 26 0 1 27
Fatherland 23 0 0 0 24
For the Future 22 0 0 0 22
Voice 0 0 16 0 17
Non-affiliated 24 0 9 0 37
All factions 312 26 25 32 395

Parliamentary vote for the cabinet
Faction Yes[8] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 238 0 1 6 252
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 0 30 43
European Solidarity 0 26 0 0 27
Fatherland 0 0 17 5 24
For the Future 22 0 0 0 22
Voice 0 0 17 0 17
Non-affiliated 21 0 10 2 37
All factions 281 26 45 43 395

Appointment of Prystaiko as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Faction Yes[9] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 250 0 0 2 252
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 0 34 43
European Solidarity 0 0 25 1 27
Fatherland 21 0 0 1 24
For the Future 20 0 0 2 22
Voice 0 0 15 2 17
Non-affiliated 19 0 9 7 37
All factions 310 0 49 49 408

Appointment of Zahorodniuk as Minister of Defence
Faction Yes[10] No Abstained Did not vote Total
Servant of the People 248 0 0 3 252
Opposition Platform — For Life 0 0 1 36 43
European Solidarity 0 25 0 0 27
Fatherland 22 0 0 0 24
For the Future 21 0 0 1 22
Voice 0 0 9 5 17
Non-affiliated 23 0 4 7 37
All factions 314 25 14 52 405

Retention of Avakov in the new government

One of the most acute issues that were part of long discussions and negotiations was keeping the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov who had held his post since the Revolution of Dignity. The newly elected Prime Minister Honcharuk noted that the decision to keep the minister was one of the most complex, yet for the Minister of Internal Affairs "drew certain red lines" which he could not cross.[11]

Fall

In early 2020, domestic media outlets reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky had lost confidence in Prime Minister Honcharuk due to the slow speed at which his government was carrying out reforms.[12] Ukrainian media expected this lack of confidence would culminate in a vote in the Verkhovna Rada on March 4 in which Zelensky would propose sweeping changes to the government, including the appointment of a new prime minister.[13][12]

On 3 March 2020 Honcharuk tendered his resignation and according to Ukrainian law the Prime Minister's resignation meant the automatic resignation of the entire government.[14] Speaking before the vote on Honcharuk's dismissal, President Zelensky thanked him for his work, while blaming his government for an inefficient economic policy, a decline in industrial production and customs revenues, and accused them of poor communication with local authorities and the public, as well as failing to prepare for further reforms.[15] The following day the Honcharuk government was replaced by the Shmyhal Government.[16][15]

Composition

The new government was cut to 17 ministers from the previous 25.[17] The new cabinet was cut to 15 ministers from the previous 19.[17]

Under the Constitution of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine submits nominations to parliament for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense.

According to Ukrayinska Pravda, President Volodymyr Zelensky continued to hold interviews with candidates for Minister of Healthcare on the day the cabinet was appointed.[18] On 31 August 2019, Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia stated on ZIK channel that most likely the then current Healthcare Minister, Zoriana Skaletska, would be replaced by Mikhail Radutsky (who according to Arakhamia needed "about three months to prepare" for the post (in August 2019).[19]

Servant of the People appointed five of its members on the party election list (who are not actual members of the party) as ministers in the Honcharuk government.

On 4 February 2020 Minister of Regional Development Aliona Babak was replaced by Denys Shmygal at her own request.[20][21]

Nominating
party key		 Servant of the People
Presidential nominations President Volodymyr Zelensky
Logo Office Incumbent[17]
Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk
Vice Prime Minister (European integration) Dmytro Kuleba
Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov[lower-alpha 1]
Minister of Digital Transformation
Vice Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (from February 2020)
Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko
Minister of Finance Oksana Markarova
Minister of Defence Andriy Zahorodniuk
Minister of Social Policy Yuliya Sokolovska
Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories, IDPs and veterans Oksana Koliada
Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska[lower-alpha 2]
 Minister of Healthcare Zoriana Skaletska
Minister of Education Hanna Novosad[lower-alpha 3]
Ministry of Energy Generation and Protection of Environment Oleksiy Orzhel[lower-alpha 4]
Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy[lower-alpha 5]
Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov
Minister of Development of Communities and Territories Alyona Babak[lower-alpha 6] (until February 2020[20])
Denys Shmyhal (from February 2020[21])
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Volodymyr Borodiansky
Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Dmytro Dubilet

See also

Notes
  1. Fedorov is a non-partisan member of Ukrainian parliament and government.[22]
  2. Maliuska is a non-partisan member of Ukrainian parliament and government.[23]
  3. Novosad is a non-partisan member of Ukrainian parliament and government.[24]
  4. Orzhel is a non-partisan member of Ukrainian parliament and government.[25]
  5. Krykliy is a non-partisan member of Ukrainian parliament and government.[26]
  6. Babak is a former member of Self-Reliance, but in 2019 she ran to the parliament as member of Servant of People and later was appointed to the government.[27]

References
  1. "Ukrainian Lawmakers Approve Political Novice Honcharuk As Prime Minister". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  2. The Rada appointed Honcharuk as the Prime Minister (Рада призначила Гончарука прем’єром). Ukrayinska Pravda. 29 August 2019
  3. "Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna party moves to opposition over land market law | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  4. Draft of resolution. Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  5. Individual voting about draft of resolution about appointing of Bakanov I.H. on the post of Head of Security Service of Ukraine (#1021) – as general and in whole (Поіменне голосування про проект Постанови про призначення Баканова І.Г. на посаду Голови Служби безпеки України (№1021) - за основу та в цілому). Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  6. The new Attorney General was a former NAPC member, Ukrayinska Pravda (29 August 2019)
  7. Individual voting about draft of resolution about giving consent on appointing Riaboshapka R.H. by the President of Ukraine on the post of General Prosecutor of Ukraine (#1019) – as general and in whole (Поіменне голосування про проект Постанови про надання згоди на призначення Президентом України Рябошапки Р.Г. на посаду Генерального прокурора (№1019) - за основу та в цілому). Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  8. Individual voting about appointing members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Поіменне голосування про призначення членів Кабінету Міністрів України). Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  9. Individual voting about draft of resolution about appointing Prystaiko V.V. on the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (#1024) – as general and in whole (Поіменне голосування про проект Постанови про призначення Пристайка В.В. на посаду Міністра закордонних справ України (№1024) - за основу та в цілому). Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  10. Individual voting about draft of resolution about appointing Zahorodniuk A. as Minister of Defense of Ukraine (#1023) – as general and in whole (Поіменне голосування про проект Постанови про призначення Пристайка В.В. на посаду Міністра закордонних справ України (№1024) - за основу та в цілому). Verkhovna Rada. 29 August 2019
  11. The new Prime Minister explained how left Avakov: "the red lines" (Новий прем’єр пояснив, як лишили Авакова: "червоні лінії"). Ukrayinska Pravda. 30 August 2019
  12. "Zelensky shakes up Ukraine government and proposes new prime minister". The Times. London. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  13. "Financial Times: Україна змінює уряд в дуже невдалий час". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  14. Ukrainian parliament approves new government composition, Ukrinform (4 March 2020)
  15. Denys Shmyhal is the new Prime Minister of Ukraine, Centre for Eastern Studies (5 March 2020)
  16. A New Government for Ukraine: One Female Minister and "Indispensable" Arsen Avakov, Hromadske.TV (4 March 2020)
  17. New Cabinet formed in Ukraine The Rada appointed the new Cabinet: Avakov and Markarova remained (РАДА ПРИЗНАЧИЛА НОВИЙ КАБМІН: АВАКОВ І МАРКАРОВА ЛИШИЛИСЬ), Ukrayinska Pravda (29 August 2019)
  18. (in Ukrainian) Zelensky is still looking for a candidate for the head of the Ministry of Health, Ukrayinska Pravda (January 29, 2019)
  19. Later, the new head of the Ministry of Health will be replaced by Radutsky - Arachamia. Ukrayinska Pravda. 31 August 2019
  20. Babak is leaving her post in Ministry of regions, – the source (Бабак йде з посади голови Мінрегіону, - джерело ). RBC Ukraine. 16 January 2020.
    Honcharuk has decided on new minister of communities and territories (Гончарук визначився із новим міністром громад і територій). TSN. 17 January 2020
  21. Ukraine's parliament appoints Shmyhal as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Community Development, UNIAN (4 February 2020)
  22. Mykhailo Fedorov. Central Election Commission.
  23. Denys Maliuska. Central Election Commission.
  24. Hanna Novosad. Central Election Commission.
  25. Oleksiy Orzhel. Central Election Commission.
  26. Vladyslav Krykliy. Central Election Commission.
  27. DT.UA is analyzing a candidacy of Aliona Babak on the post of minister of development of communities and territories (DT.UA аналізує кандидатуру Альони Бабак на посаду міністра розвитку громад і територій). Mirror Weekly. 31 August 2019
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