Andriy Vasylyovych Taran ( uk, Андрій Васильович Таран; born 4 March 1955) is a Ukrainian retired lieutenant general and politician. He was the 16th

Minister of Defence of Ukraine The Minister of Defence ( uk, Міністр оборони, translit=Ministr oborony) is the defence minister of Ukraine and head of the Ministry of Defence, which is in charge of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the second-largest military power in ...

. He is also a retired

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

Early life and education

Andriy Vasylyovych Taran was born 4 March 1955 in the East Germanу city of

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

to a military family serving in the Soviet Army's

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

. In the 1970s, he graduated from the Kyiv Higher Engineer School of Artillery (now the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defence University of Ukraine) specializing in military

radio engineering Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering are also essential p ...

. In the 1980s he graduated from the Air Defence Army Academy in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

with a major in combat management. He also underwent studies at the

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

and the National Defence University in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He is fluent in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and Russian languages as second languages.

Military and diplomatic service

In the early 90s, he served in the central office of the

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian m ...

and then went to the Chief Directorate of Intelligence. He worked at the

National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...

as an expert in the Centre for Strategic Planning and Analysis, then returned to the central office of the Ministry of Defence in 1996. After leaving the Defence Ministry in 1999, he became a military attaché at the

Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, D.C. The Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C., is the diplomatic mission of Ukraine to the United States. The embassy is located at 3350 M Street (Washington, D.C.), M Street NW, in the heart of Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Georgetown's commercia ...

From 2008, he was the Deputy Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. For five months ending in April 2016, he was the First Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces. In 2016, he retired at the age of 61 due to his age, holding the rank of

. From September to November 2015, he worked in the

Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (also known as the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine) is a group of representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Organization for Secur ...

Political activity

In 2019, he headed the election headquarters of presidential candidate and former

Head of the Security Service of Ukraine The Head of the Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Голова Служби безпеки України) serves as the director of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the internal security agency of the Ukrainian government. The head of the Se ...

Ihor Smeshko Colonel General Ihor Petrovich Smeshko ( uk, Ігор Петрович Смешко, born 17 August 1955) served as the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) from 2003 to 2005, where he supported the opposition during the Orange Revoluti ...

. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, he ran for parliament with Smeshko's

Strength and Honour ''Strength and Honour'' is a 2008 Irish sports drama film written, produced and directed by Mark Mahon. It was shot in Cork, Ireland. Filming took place in the city and county including Kinsale, Rochestown, Passage West and the un-opened mater ...

party. But in the election the party won 3.82% of the votes, not enough to clear the 5% election threshold and it thus gained no parliamentary seats.

Defence minister

On his 65th birthday in 2020, he was personally appointed to the post of Minister of Defence by President

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

, serving in the

Shmyhal Government The Shmyhal government ( uk, Уряд Дениса Шмигаля) is the current government of Ukraine, formed on 4 March 2020 and led by Denys Shmyhal, who was previously acting vice prime minister, and earlier the Governor of Ivano-Frankivsk ...

. His appointment was backed by 285 MPs in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

. He has been a member of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine since 13 March 2020. On 14 December 2020, for the first time in the history of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Taran signed several direct contracts with Turkish companies on technology transfer and production of corvettes and combat UAVs for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 3 November 2021 Taran was dismissed as minister.Verkhovna Rada dismisses Defense Minister Andriy Taran
Ukrinform (3 November 2021)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taran, Andriy 1955 births Living people People from Frankfurt (Oder) Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine alumni National Defense University alumni Defence ministers of Ukraine Lieutenant generals of Ukraine 21st-century Ukrainian politicians Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Ambassadors of Ukraine to Slovenia