Ivan Stepanovych Plyushch (; 11 September 1941 – 25 June 2014) was a Ukrainian politician. He thrice served as the

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine () is the presiding officer of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russi ...

(

parliament of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capita ...

), from 9 July to 23 July 1990 (acting), from 5 December 1991 to 11 May 1994, and from 1 February 2000 to 14 May 2002.

Biography

Ivan Plyushch was born on 11 September 1941, in

Borzna Borzna (, ), also referred to as Borsna, is a city in Nizhyn Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Borzna urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: Geography Borzna is located on the Desna ...

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

. After graduation in 1959 from Borzna Agricultural College he started his professional career as a mid-level worker, an

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

, and the head of a division in a few state farms () and collective farms () in Baryshivka Raion. Between 1967 and 1974 Plyushch was the head of Kirov

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

and the head of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

state farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

in Baryshivka Raion. Between 1975 and 1977 he was 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, ...

working as a vice-deputy of a

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

regional committee 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 ...

. Between 1977 and 1979 Plyushch studied in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

at the Central Committee of the Communist Party Academy of Social Science. After his studies he continued working in Kyiv in the divisions of the Communist Party of

. In 1984 he became the vice-head, and later the head of Kyiv Oblast Administration. In 1990 he was elected the head of

Kyiv Oblast Council The Kyiv Oblast Council () is the regional oblast council (parliament) of the Kyiv Oblast (province) located in central Ukraine. Council members are elected for five year terms. In order to gain representation in the council, a party must gain m ...

. In 1990, Plyushch was elected to 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 ...

, where he worked for four consecutive сonvocations. On three occasions he served as Chairman of the Supreme Council; 9 July to 23 July 1990 (acting), 5 December 1991 to 11 May 1994, and 1 February 2000, to 14 May 2002. In 1994, Plyushch participated in the

1994 Ukrainian presidential election Early presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 26 June 1994, with a second round on 10 July.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1976 They were held ahead of schedule following a compromise betw ...

. He won 1.29% votes, and took the 6th place out of 7 candidates.

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

was elected as the President in the election. In the

2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 26 March 2006. Election campaigning officially began on 7 July 2005. Between November 26 and 31 December 2005, party lists of candidates were formed. The election to the Ukrainian parliament, Verkh ...

, Plyushch was leading the Ukrainian National Bloc of Kostenko and Plyushch. The bloc won 1.87% of popular vote,Українська Народна Партія
Database DATA short of the required 3% threshold, and obtained no seats in the parliament. In May 2007, Plyushch was appointed secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council by President

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

. Plyushch interpreted the council's responsibilities to include economic, environmental and energy security as well as military matters. This made it a key instrument in the President's efforts to assert his authority over the government headed by Prime Minister

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 ...

. In the

2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 30 September 2007. The election date was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Uk ...

, Plyushch was elected as a candidate of Yushchenko's

Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (, Russian language, Russian: Блок Наша Украина – Народная Самооборона, ''Blok Nasha Ukraina – Narodnaya Samooborona,'' NUNS; until 2007 named Our Ukraine Bloc) w ...

. He opposed a coalition with the

Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc () was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections was banned.

and he was dismissed as Security and Defence Council Secretary by the President in November 2007, shortly before Yanukovych was replaced as prime minister by

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

. Plyushch became a creating member of Reforms for the Future in February 2011.Individual deputies create Reforms for the Sake of Future group in parliament

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(16 February 2011) In the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012.Parli ...

Plyushch was not a candidate.Вибори-2012. Список перебіжчиків, які намагається отримати мандат
, ПРОСТІР (29 October 2012) Plyushch died on 25 June 2014, at the age of 72 after a long battle with cancer.Died ex-Speaker Ivan Plyushch

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 ...

(26 June 2014)
Died ex-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ivan Plyushch
zn.ua (26 June 2014)

Awards

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

with the Order of the State (2001) * The

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...

5th (1996), 4th (2007) and 3rd (2011) Cl. * Cross of Ivan Mazepa (2010)

References

External links

OpenUA: Ivan Plyushch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plyushch, Ivan 1941 births 2014 deaths People from Borzna National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine alumni Candidates in the 1994 Ukrainian presidential election Chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada Chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) politicians Our Ukraine (political party) politicians People's Democratic Party (Ukraine) politicians Secretaries of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Soviet leaders of Ukraine Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union First convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Recipients of the Cross of Ivan Mazepa Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Burials at Baikove Cemetery