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 Oblast.

History

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's first government was the Honcharuk Government, formed after the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election. However, Zelenskyy was dissatisfied with the government due to high ministerial salaries and poor performance. On 3 March 2020, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk tendered his resignation, and by law this triggered the automatic resignation of the Honcharuk Government. In his 4 March 2020 address to the parliament, Zelenskyy expressed his hope for a stronger government, and that day Honcharuk was dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) and Denys Shmyhal was appointed prime minister.Denys Shmyhal is the new Prime Minister of Ukraine
Centre for Eastern Studies (5 March 2020)

The transition from the Honcharuk government was treated in some local press as worrisome, with the ''Kyiv Post'' calling it "hasty" and "awkward".

Appointment of Shmyhal as Prime Minister

The appointment of Shmyhal as the Prime Minister of Ukraine was approved by the Verkhovna Rada in a special session on 4 March 2020. Shmyhal was an acting vice prime minister at the time of his appointment; he had previously served as Governor of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. 291 people's deputies voted for his candidacy, while the members of most of the other factions ( Opposition Platform — For Life, European Solidarity, Fatherland, and Voice) did not support it.

Composition

At the time of appointment of the government five minister seats remained vacant at the following ministries: the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Education. Four ministers kept the same post as they had in the previous Honcharuk government: the Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy, and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. Two ministers switched posts: Vadym Prystaiko left the Foreign Ministry and became the Deputy Prime Minister for Eurointegration while Dmytro Kuleba did the complete opposite, taking on the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 18 May 2021 parliament dismissed Krykliy as Minister.

All the ministerial posts — apart from those of the Ministers of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs that were put forward for voting by President Zelensky as these post are presidential nominationsMember of Parliament shares list of possible members of government
UNIAN (3 March 2020) — were voted in by a package vote, with the support of 277 people's deputies.

Health Minister Illia Yemets and Finance Minister Ihor Umansky were dismissed by the parliament on 30 March 2020.Ukraine's Rada sacks health, finance ministers amid virus crisis
''UNIAN'' (30 March 2020)

Initially the government did not have a separate Environmental Minister (the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection was at first responsible for environmental policies), but on 19 June 2020 Roman Abramovsky was appointed Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.

On 4 July 2020 President Zelensky announced that a (new post of) Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Policy could appear in the government in a week."Servants of the People" have decided on the Deputy Prime Minister of Industrial Policy, waiting for support in the Rada
Ukrayinska Pravda (10 July 2020) On 16 July 2020 Oleh Urusky was appointed Vice Prime Minister responsible for the new Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine

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