Petro Poroshenko

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( _uk. Петро Олексійович Порошенко), (born September 26, 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician frequently cited as one of the most influential people in the Ukrainian politics. [http://files.korrespondent.net/politics/poroshenko/]

Early life

Petro Poroshenko was in born in the city of Bolhrad, Odessa Oblast, in Ukraine. In 1989, he graduated with a degree in economics from the faculty of international relations and international law (subsequently Institute of International Reations) of the Kiev State University.

Business career

After graduation, Poroshenko started his own business selling cacao beans. In 1990s, he acquired control over several confectionery enterprises. Subsequently, he united his holdings in that indutstry into Roshen group, the largest confectionery manufacturer in Ukraine. The fortunes he made in the chocolate industry earned him a nickname a "Chocolate King".

Now Poroshenko's business empire also includes several car and bus plants, Leninska Kuznya shipyard, a 5 kanal television channel as well as other businesses.

Political career

Poroshenko first won a seat in Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament of Ukraine) in 1998. He was initially a member of United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (SDPU{o), the most loyal to president Leonid Kuchma political party at the time. Poroshenko left SDPU(o) in 2000 to create an independent left-of-center faction "Solidarnist" ("Solidarity"), which shortly thereafter joined Party of Regions, also loyal to Kuchma. However, in December 2001 he broke ranks with Kuchma supporters to become campaign chief of Viktor Yushchenko's opposition bloc Our Ukraine. After parliamentary elections in March 2002 in which Our Ukraine won the biggest share of the popular vote, Poroshenko served as head of the parliamentary budget committee.

Poroshenko is considered a close confidant of a Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko who is a god-father of Poroshenko's daughters. Being probably the wealthiest businessman among Yushchenko supporters, Poroshenko is often cited as one of the chief sponsors of Our Ukraine and the Orange Revolution.

After Viktor Yushchenko won the presidential elections in 2004, Poroshenko was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. Amid the September 2005 political crisis in Ukraine that followed the highly publicized mutual allegations of corruption in Ukrainian politics, Poroshenko was dismissed by the president who at the same time sacked the entire cabinet of ministers led by prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Poroshenko's political arch-rival in post-Orange Revolution Ukraine.In March 2006 parliamentary election Poroshenko was re-elected to the Ukrainian parliament through the list of Our Ukraine electoral bloc. He currently chairs the parliamentary Committee on the Finance and Banking.

ee also