Ukraine’s Parliament Appoints Yuliia Svyrydenko as Prime Minister

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has officially appointed Yuliia Svyrydenko as the country’s new Prime Minister.

The Gaze writes about it, referring to a post by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak on social media.

The decision, backed by 262 members of parliament, makes Svyrydenko the 19th person and only the second woman in Ukraine’s history to hold the office of Prime Minister.

Svyrydenko, born on December 25, 1985, in Chernihiv, has built a distinguished career in public service. 

Since 2015, she has held multiple senior roles in the Chernihiv Regional Administration, including Acting Governor. 

Her trajectory continued in the national government, serving as Deputy Minister and later First Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture.

In December 2020, she was appointed Deputy Head of the Office of the President, and by November 2021, she took on the dual role of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy. 

Svyrydenko’s appointment as Prime Minister comes amid sweeping Cabinet reshuffles aimed at streamlining governance, accelerating reforms, and aligning Ukraine’s executive leadership with wartime priorities and the EU integration agenda. Key changes include:

– Outgoing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is expected to become Ukraine’s new Minister of Defense, replacing Rustem Umerov, who may be appointed Ambassador to the United States;

– Taras Kachka is slated to become Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, succeeding Olha Stefanishyna;

– Mykhailo Fedorov, current Minister of Digital Transformation, is likely to be promoted to First Deputy Prime Minister;

– Mykola Tochytskyi, currently serving as Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, is expected to return to diplomacy as Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe.

Other appointments are also under discussion, with further changes anticipated in the coming days, etc.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week met with Svyrydenko and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to outline the government’s priorities for the next six months.