Mikhail Nikolayevich Chigir or Michaił Mikalajevič Čyhir (born 24 May 1948) is a Belarusian politician who served as the second

Prime Minister of Belarus The prime minister of the Republic of Belarus (; ) is the head of government of Belarus. Until 1991, it was known as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as the head of the government of the cons ...

from 21 July 1994 to 18 November 1996.

Early life

Chigir was born in

Usovo Usovo () is the name of several rural localities in Russia. Modern localities Arkhangelsk Oblast As of 2023, one rural locality in the Arkhangelsk Oblast bears this name: * Usovo, Arkhangelsk Oblast, a village in Zabelinsky Selsoviet of Kotlass ...

(Belarusian: Vusava) on 24 May 1948.

Career

Chigir was appointed as Prime Minister in July 1994, on the day following the inauguration of

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

as president. Prior to this, he served as head of Belagroprombank, a bank specializing in agricultural pursuits.

Resignation

In 1996, Chigir resigned as prime minister in protest of Lukashenko's efforts to gain unlimited authority over the country. The following year he became a signatory of

Charter 97 Charter'97 (; ) is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights online news outlet taking its inspiration from the declaration. Charter The Charter'97 declaration deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declara ...

. In 1999, he announced he would run for President of Belarus in order to unseat Lukashenko.

Arrest

On 30 March 1999, Chigir was arrested by the Belarusian government. It was alleged that he embezzled large sums of money involving loans while in charge of Belagroprombank. Chigir argued that the loans were not due to be repaid until after he was no longer with the bank, thus the money did not involve him. Prior to Chigir's arrest, several other officials who had been attempting to organize a campaign against Lukashenko were continuously repressed by the government, including

Viktar Hanchar Viktar Hanchar, or Viktar Hančar (, , Viktor Gonchar, September 7, 1957 – disappeared September 16, 1999) was a Belarusian politician who disappeared and was presumably murdered in 1999. He was born in the village of Radzichava, Slutsk Raion. ...

, who was arrested and later disappeared and eventually presumed murdered, allegedly under the order of someone close to the President. Chigir's arrest received negative reactions from governments around the world and his release was demanded by the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

. Additionally,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

demanded his release and deemed him a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

. The

International League for Human Rights The International League for Human Rights (ILHR) is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City. Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human righ ...

also protested his arrest. Chigir ultimately avoided jail time, receiving a three-year suspended sentence with a two-year probationary period. Following the trial, he stated his intention to run for election to the

House of Representatives of Belarus The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus is the lower house of the parliament of Belarus, while the upper house is the Council of the Republic. It was established after the Constitution of Belarus was ...

Notes

References