Vasyl Volodymyrovych Myroshnychenko (Ukrainian: Васи́ль Володи́мирович Мирошниче́нко; born June 19, 1981,

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

) is an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

since March 2022. Adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine (on a voluntary basis) since March 7, 2022. He is also the CEO and Partner at CFC Big Ideas.

Early life

Myroshnychenko was born in

on June 12, 1981, in a family of doctors. He graduated from a comprehensive school in

Volochysk Volochysk (, ; ; ) is a small city located on the left bank of the Zbruch River in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Volochysk urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukra ...

Khmelnytsky Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-largest ...

region.

Education

Myroshnychenko studied at the Institute of International Relations of 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 ...

where by 2003 he obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in international relations with honors. In the summer of 2002, he participated in the Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry program, Iacocca Institute,

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

, US. Later, between 2005 and 2006, Myroshnychenko attended

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

, London, UK, where he defended the dissertation on "The mechanisms of attracting foreign direct investments". In 2008, he started his subsequent studies at the Management Program of the

Swedish Institute The Swedish Institute (, ) is a government agency in Sweden with the responsibility to spread information about Sweden outside the country. It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other countries in different ar ...

Stockholm, Sweden. In May 2014, he took an intensive two-week course run by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, Institute of Advocacy and Public Affairs.

Career

Early public service career

Myroshnychenko started his public service activities as an intern at the Public Affairs Section in the Embassy of the United States of America in the 1999 and 2000. Followed by an internship as an Assistant to the Member of Parliament House of Commons,

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as a part of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program in 2001. Upon completing the internship, Myroshnychenko co-founded the youth public organization "European Youth Parliament - Ukraine" of which he was the president for the next 3 years.

CFC Big Ideas

After coming back from the internships in the governmental bodies in the US and Canada, Myroshnychenko came back to Ukraine and founded CFC Big Ideas in 2002. He is currently a CEO and Partner at the company. During the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity in 2014, he co-founded and headed Ad Hoc Projects of

Ukraine Crisis Media Center Ukraine Crisis Media Center (UCMC) is a non-governmental organization that provides information about events in Ukraine, challenges and threats to the national security; in particular in the military, political, economic, energy and humanitarian ...

, NGO and media organization Kyiv, Ukraine, up to 2016. Vasyl has advised many multinational companies and domestic industry leaders across different sectors. He currently sits on the board of the Ukrainian-British City Club, a London-based organization set up in 2005 to promote the UK-Ukraine trade and investment relations. Since 2021, acting as a Member of the Supervisory Board of State Enterprise Ukraine Institute.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand

On 9 March 2022 was appointed as an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia. In early April 2022, Myroshnychenko met with Australian Defence Minister

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...

to discuss the purchase of Bushmaster vehicles and Australian assistance in documenting and prosecuting alleged Russian war crimes. In July 2022, Myroshnychenko welcomed the incoming

Albanese government The Albanese government is the current federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party. The Albanese government was sworn in on 23 May 2022 by the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurl ...

's announcement that Australia would provide A$100 million worth of aid to Ukraine following

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...

's state visit to Ukraine. He also indicated that Ukraine would welcome the expulsion of the Russian Ambassador to Australia against the backdrop of deteriorating Australian-Russian relations. In early August 2022, Myroshnychenko commenced negotiations with the

Education Minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

to allow Ukrainian students to study in Australian universities at lower rates than domestic students due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. In mid–August, Myroshnychenko visited New Zealand in his capacity as Ukrainian Ambassador to New Zealand and met several senior New Zealand officials including

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Peeni Henare Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare () is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who has been a member of the New Zealand parliament since the 2014 general election. Henare held the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate since 2014 before being defeated ...

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Trevor Mallard Sir Trevor Colin Mallard (born 17 June 1954) is a New Zealand politician and diplomat. Since 2023, he has served as Ambassador of New Zealand to Ireland. He was a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2022. He served a ...

, and

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Nanaia Mahuta Nanaia Cybele Mahuta (born 21 August 1970) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand from 2020 to 2023. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Ma ...

. Myroshnychenko urged New Zealand to lift tariffs on Ukrainian goods and support his wartorn country. He also expressed interest in negotiating a free trade agreement with New Zealand.

Charity

He has been a member of the Kyiv circle of friends of the

Ukrainian Catholic University The Ukrainian Catholic University () is a Catholicism, Catholic university in Lviv, Ukraine, affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) was the first :Catholic universities and colleges, Catholic ...

since 2008. From 2012 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2021 he headed the organizing committee of the UCU Charity Evening in Kyiv. He also supports the national scout organization

Plast The Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine (), commonly called Ukrainian Plast or simply , is the largest Scouting organization in Ukraine. History First Era: 1911–1920 Plast was founded in Lviv (Lwów, Lemberg), Austro-Hungarian Ga ...

Awards and honours

* Medal for Assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2023)

Personal life and hobbies

Myroshnychenko is married and has two children. Myroshnychenko participated in 6 marathons, including Lisbon (2019), Istanbul (2020), Antalya (2021), Madrid (2021) and two individual marathons. He is also fond of open water swimming and cycling and has participated in the Oceanman amateur competition.

Publications

* Article "Business Sense: Ways to start fixing Ukraine's already horrible image abroad", KyivPost, December 3, 2009 * Article "Now is the perfect moment to strengthen ties with Ukraine", CapX, July 8, 2020 * Article "UK and Ukraine sign a historic post-Brexit free trade deal", Atlantic Council, October 12, 2020

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myroshnychenko, Vasyl Ambassadors of Ukraine to Australia Ambassadors of Ukraine to New Zealand Living people 1981 births People from Ternopil 21st-century Ukrainian businesspeople Ukrainian chief executives Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of International Relations alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Ukrainian Catholic University people Ukrainian male marathon runners