Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the title head of local (regional) state administration (, ) refers to the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of each of the

administrative divisions of Ukraine The administrative divisions of Ukraine ( ) are under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions (24 Oblasts of Ukraine, oblasts ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

(includes autonomous republic, oblasts),

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

(district) or city, in case of Kyiv and Sevastopol. Informally the position of the head of regional state administration or more commonly oblast state administration (for

oblasts An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

) is referred to as governor. However, its function is very different from a traditional gubernatorial position. The heads of local state administrations are appointed and dismissed by the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

on the submission of the

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state Executive (government), executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republi ...

for the term of office of the head of the state.

Origin and overview

The position derived from the Institute of Presidential Representatives that was introduced during the presidency of

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...

in 1992. After the resignation of

as the

in 1993, most of presidential representatives positions in regions were discontinued and their functions were performed by chairmen of executive committee in each regional council. The

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

was transformed from

Crimean Oblast * oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often tr ...

to Crimean ASSR, also changed its regional (oblast) executive committee into Council of Ministers of the Crimean ASSR. The chief of Crimean regional executive committee became the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Crimean ASSR. The introduction of the Institute of Presidential Representatives in Crimea in the early 1990s was blocked due to the situation in Crimea when the Russian Federation failed to take full control over the peninsula. Earlier before

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, chairmen of the executive committee, that existed since the establishment of the Soviet regime in Ukraine, were completely overshadowed by the first secretaries and party offices of regional committees of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

which was a constituent part of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

due to the leading role of the Party in the Soviet Union. Previously, there existed a chairman of the executive committee ( ispolkom) at the governorate (province) level, raion (district) level, okruh (district) level, and oblast (province) level. Besides the local state administration, all local (regional, district, city) councils have their executive committees. There are two offices of a head of city-state administration one for Kyiv and another for Sevastopol. The head of

Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration (, commonly abbreviated as KMDA ) is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; ...

(governor) usually is served by the Kyiv city mayor elected by the popular vote. The Chairperson of the Sevastopol City State Administration (governor) is appointed by the president on petition of the prime minister.

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

is the only city in Ukraine that does not have a mayoral position. Due to the 2014

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

the post of the head of Sevastopol City State Administration is currently suspended, while the Presidential representative in Crimea continues to function in mainland Ukraine along with other Crimean offices of executive power.

Appointment and termination

The chiefs of local state administrations are appointed by the

with the recommendation from the

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the government of Ukrain ...

. The role and powers of the position are defined in Chapter 2 (Articles 8 - 12) of th
Law of Ukraine "On Local State Administration" (Law № 586-XIV, parliament, April 9, 1999)
Candidates for the position of the chief of district state administration are recommended to the Prime Minister of Ukraine by the chiefs of the respected regional state administrations. The appointment is terminated in case of violation of the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine, loss of citizenship or discovery of dual citizenship, recognition of incompetency by a court, emigration for a residence abroad, gaining a court conviction by a legal force, violation of compatibility requirements, declaring no confidence by the two-thirds of the relevant council composition, filing a request for dismissal from office at own will. The appointment may also be terminated by the President of Ukraine in case of accepting the resignation of the Chief of Regional State Administration, petition of the Prime Minister of Ukraine on the grounds prescribed by the legislation about the State Service, declaring no confidence by the majority of the relevant council composition, other circumstances foreseen by this or other laws of Ukraine, on initiative of the President of Ukraine. According to Article 118 of the

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

, the heads of the local administrations are appointed and dismissed by the President of Ukraine on the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers.https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3666971-government-approves-appointment-of-three-regional-administration-heads.html According to the Ukrainian Constitution they should also resign after a new President is elected.City Champion. How Klitschko kept Kyiv

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(30 January 2020) The authority of the chiefs of local state administrations is terminated also upon their death. In case of election of the new President of Ukraine the chiefs of local state administrations continue to exercise their powers until appointment of the new chiefs of local state administrations in established order.

Role and powers

The chief thus heads the executive branch in each region, district, or city. The chief forms the composition of the local State Administration as well as its structure depending upon the budget allocations and requirements t
the Article XVIII of the Law of Ukraine "On the Principles of Regulatory Policy in Economic Activity" (Law № 1160-IV, parliament, September 11, 2003)
To execute the Constitution of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine, acts of the President of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ukraine, other bodies of executive power as well as own and delegated powers the chief issues orders. The orders of the chief adopted within his/her competence are mandatory for execution on the respective territory by all authorities, companies, institutions and organizations, officials, and citizens.

Notable heads of RSA

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

, governor of

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

who later served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine *

Pavlo Lazarenko Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko (; born 23 January 1953) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian convicted criminal, international fugitive, and a former politician who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from 1996 to 1997. Born in 1953 to a peasant family in southe ...

, governor of

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetro ...

who later served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine *

Yuriy Yekhanurov Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov (, ; born 23 August 1948) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Ministry of Defence (Ukraine), Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2009. Background and professional ca ...

, governor of

who later served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine * Denys Shmyhal, governor of

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

who later served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine *

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

, former President of Georgia who later served as the governor of

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

List of governors who also served as government ministers: Serhiy Tulub, Mykhailo Kaskevych, Heorhiy Filipchuk, Mykola Derkach, Volodymyr Yatsuba, Viktor Bondar, Oleksandr Vilkul, Dmytro Kolyesnikov, Serhiy Polyakov, Anatoliy Blyznyuk, others. List of governors who also served as governors in several regions: Volodymyr Shcherban, Mykola Lavryk, Volodymyr Kulish, Volodymyr Yatsuba, Valentyn Reznichenko, Pavlo Zhebrivskyi, others.

References

External links

{{Chairmen of regional state administrations of Ukraine Government occupations Gubernatorial titles Government of Ukraine

Origin and overview

Appointment and termination

Role and powers

Notable heads of RSA

See also

List of governors

References

External links