Andriy Vasylyovych Taran (; born 4 March 1955) is Ukraine's ambassador to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. He was the 16th Minister of Defence of Ukraine and before that a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

Ukrainian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

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 (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...

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 Occupation ...

. 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 or radio 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 ...

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

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

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

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

and the National Defence University in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He is fluent in English and Russian as second languages.

Military and diplomatic service

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

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine () is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees national defence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Defence. The President of Ukraine is the Supreme Com ...

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, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

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. 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 Trilateral is something having three sides or perspectives and may refer to: * Triangle, a geometric figure with three sides and three vertices. The synonym ''trilateral'' emphasizes a definition in terms of sides rather than vertices. *The Trilat ...

Political activity

In 2019, he headed the election headquarters of presidential candidate and former Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ihor Smeshko. 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 (director), Mark Mahon. It was shot in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. Filming took place in the city and county including Kinsale, Rochestown, ...

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 (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, serving in the

Shmyhal Government The Shmyhal government () is the current government of Ukraine, formed on 4 March 2020 and led by Denys Shmyhal, who was previously serving as Deputy Prime Minister in the Honcharuk government, and the Governor of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Shmyh ...

. His appointment was backed by 285 MPs in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

. On 13 March 2020, he became a member of the

. 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

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s and combat UAVs for the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On 2 November 2021 Taran resigned as minister,Verkhovna Rada dismisses Defense Minister Andriy Taran
''Ukrinform'' (3 November 2021) reportedly for health reasons.

Ambassador to Slovenia

On 5 May 2022, Taran was appointed Ukraine's ambassador to

. On 21 December 2024, Taran was dismissed Ukraine ambassador to Slovenia.

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 Ministers of defense 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