Prime Minister of Ukraine
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The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Прем'єр-міністр України) presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the top body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government.
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[edit] Appointment and dismissal
The Prime Minister is appointed by the Verkhovna Rada following a proposal by President (Article 114 of Constitution). The candidacy is chosen and forwarded to the President by a parliamentary coalition. Formally, the President has 15 days to consider the candidacy and the Constitution is silent on whether the candidacy may be turned down.
Before the Constitutional reform of 2004, the President was not restricted in his choice of the Prime-Minister candidacy and the ratification in the parliament was usually preceded by several days of comprehensive consultations and interviews of the candidate by the parliamentary factions. The approval by the legislature was not a mere formality. Some candidates were ratified by a narrow margin and a candidate may be turned down. For instance, in 1999, Valeriy Pustovoytenko fell short of 3 votes to be re-confirmed after he tendered his resignation at the second inauguration of President Kuchma. Kuchma chose Viktor Yushchenko as his alternative candidate. Another example is the ratification of Yuriy Yekhanurov. He was short of 3 votes to get ratified and was confirmed on the second attempt 2 days later.
Before the constitutional reform, the Prime minister was usually dismissed unilaterally by the President. After the reform the Prime minister can only be dismissed by the parliament. Formally, the Verkhovna Rada needs to pass a resolution of no confidence in the Cabinet, which must result in the PM's resignation. However, the parliament cannot put the resolution on vote within one year after the approval of the Cabinet's programme. The parliament dismissed the Cabinets of Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych. The latter refused to tender his resignation to the President claiming a violation of the one-year period condition. The Cabinet of Yuriy Yekhanurov had also been formally dismissed, but the parliamentary act was subsequently repealed.
The Prime Minister, as well as any other Cabinet member, may resign voluntarily by tendering the resignation to the parliament. A resignation by the Prime Minister results in the dismissal of the Cabinet. After the adoption of the current Constitution of Ukraine, only Pavlo Lazarenko lost his post this way.
Also, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are obligated to resign to each new convocation of the parliament. (Article 115 of Constitution).
[edit] Authority
The Prime Minister supervises the work of the Cabinet and signs its acts. Also, he or she proposes candidacies of ministers to the parliament (except the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense), as well as candidacies of heads of regional state administrations (colloquially referred to as "governors") to the President.
Moreover, the Prime Minister has the authority to countersign many presidential edicts, together with a minister responsible for the execution of the edict. The Constitution does not make it clear whether the PM may withhold his signature and whether missing countersignatures render an edict unenforceable.
[edit] List of Prime Ministers of Ukraine (1990-Present)
- Vitold Fokin (23 October 1990 - 2 October 1992) (acting to 14 November 1990)
- Valentyn Symonenko (2 October - 13 October 1992) (acting)
- Leonid Kuchma (13 October 1992 - 22 September 1993)
- Yukhym Zvyahilsky (22 September 1993 - 16 June 1994) (acting)
- Vitaliy Masol (16 June 1994 - 1 March 1995)
- Yevhen Marchuk (1 March 1995 - 28 May 1996) (acting to 8 June 1995)
- Pavlo Lazarenko (28 May 1996 - 2 July 1997)
- Vasyl Durdynets (19 June - 16 July 1997) (acting (for Lazarenko to 2 July 1997))
- Valeriy Pustovoitenko (16 July 1997 - 22 December 1999)
- Viktor Yushchenko (22 December 1999 - 29 May 2001)
- Anatoliy Kinakh (29 May 2001 - 21 November 2002)
- Viktor Yanukovych (21 November 2002 - 5 January 2005) (1st time)
- Mykola Azarov (7 December - 28 December 2004) (actong for Yanukovych)
- Mykola Azarov (5 January - 24 January 2005) (acting)
- Yuliya Tymoshenko (24 January - 8 September 2005)
- Yurii Yekhanurov (8 September 2005 - 4 August 2006 (acting to 22 September 2005)
- Viktor Yanukovych (4 August 2006 - Present)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine - official website
