Vitaliy Andriyovych Masol ( uk, Віталій Андрійович Масол; 14 November 1928 – 21 September 2018) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
-Ukrainian politician who served as leader of Ukraine on two occasions. He held various posts in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, most notably the Head of the Council of Ministers, which is the equivalent of today's Prime Minister, from 1987 until late 1990, when he was forced to resign. He was later Prime Minister of Ukraine, confirmed in that post on 16 June 1994. He resigned from that post on 1 March 1995.
Early life and career
Vitaliy Andriyovych Masol was born in a village near
Chernihiv
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
)
, image = NTUU KPI logo.png
, image_size = 220px
, caption = Seal of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
, established = 1898
, students = 36,000 (approximately)
, admini ...
with a degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...
. He worked as an engineer at the
New Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Factory
Novokramatorsky Mashynobudivny Zavod (English:New Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant) ( uk, Новокраматорський машинобудівний завод) is a large heavy equipment manufacturer in Ukraine. Its abbreviation is NKMZ. ...
and rose to become the head of the technical department, the head of the mechanical shop and then the deputy chief engineer. In 1971, he was awarded a doctorate in technical science; his thesis was in regards to the fatigue strength of
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
used to manufacture ship propellers at the plant.
Political career
In the Soviet Union
Masol was a member of the
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accordi ...
. In 1972, he became deputy chairman of the state planning committee in Ukraine at the invitation of First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accordi ...
, Vladimir Shcherbitsky. Shcherbitsky had intended to make him deputy minister for oil but decided that there was a more urgent vacancy on the committee. Masol later became chair of the committee and a member of the commission in charge of decontamination following the
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nucl ...
. Masol became Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Council of Ministers on 16 January 1979.
He served as Head of the Council of Ministers (equivalent of today's Prime Minister) of the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
from 1987 until 17 October 1990, when he was forced to resign and was replaced by Vitold Fokin.How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy by
Anders Åslund
Per Anders Åslund (; born 17 February 1952) is a Swedish economist and former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is also a chairman of the International Advisory Council at the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE).
His work fo ...
hunger strikes
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
known as the ''
Revolution on Granite
The Revolution on Granite ( uk, Революція на граніті, translit=Revoliutsiia na hraniti) was a student-led protest campaign that took place primarily in Kyiv and Western Ukraine in October 1990. Masol was a member of the
Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (russian: Съезд народных депутатов СССР, ''Sʺezd narodnykh deputatov SSSR'') was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.
Backg ...
between 1989 and 1991.
In independent Ukraine
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Leonid Kravchuk's appointment of Masol as Prime Minister of Ukraine on 16 June 1994 with his image of "an advocate of state-controlled economy" was seen as a surprise and a pre-election concession to the communist-dominated Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament). Masol was once again reinstated by President Leonid Kuchma. Masol was against most of Kuchma's reform plans and openly so; he sometimes mobilized the Verkhovna Rada against Kuchma. Masol resigned on 1 March 1995, but continued to attend meetings of the Verkhovna Rada. Masol's two periods in this office saw the beginnings of the
collapse of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
and the establishment of a new political system in Ukraine.
Awards
During his public service, Vitaliy Masol received numerous civil and state awards and recognition, including the
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
(in both 1966 and 1986), the
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
(in 1971), the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
(in 1978), the
Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(in 1960), the
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
3rd class (in 1997) and 1st Class (in 2008), the
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise
The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...
5th Class (in 1998) and 4th Class (in 2003).
Death
Masol died on September 21, 2018 in Kyiv, at the age of 89. The cause of death was not revealed.