- Yuriy Lutsenko
Infobox Politician
name = Yuriy Lutsenko Юрій Луценко
imagesize = 250px
caption = Election poster for a meeting with Yuriy Lutsenko on July 31, 2007 inKamianets-Podilskyi .
small_
office2 = Minister of Internal Affairs
term_start2 = December 18, 2007
term_end2 =
predecessor2 =Vasyliy Tsushko
successor2 =
office3 = Minister of Internal Affairs
term_start3 = February 4, 2005
term_end3 = December 1, 2006
predecessor3 =Mykola Bilokon
successor3 =Vasyliy Tsushko
constituency =
majority =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1964|12|14
birth_place =Rivne ,Ukrainian SSR ,Soviet Union
death_date =
death_place =
party = Independent
(before 2006 -Socialist Party of Ukraine )
relations =
spouse = Irina Stepanivna (1966)
civil partner =
children = Oleksandr (1989), Vitaliy (1999)
residence = flagicon|UkraineKiev ,Ukraine
occupation =
religion =
website =
footnotes =Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko ( _uk. Юрій Віталійович Луценко; born December 14, 1964 in
Rivne ) is a Ukrainian politician and statesman. He served as the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Cabinets ofYulia Tymoshenko ,Yuriy Yekhanurov , andViktor Yanukovych . The Ministry of Internal Affairs is in charge of Ukrainian police, and Lutsenko became the first civilian minister in February, 2005.cite web|url=http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=150%2F2005|title=On appointment of Yuriy Lutsenko as Minister of Internal Affairs|work=Order of President N 150/2005|date=2005-02-04 |language=Ukrainian]Family
Yuriy's father is Vitaliy Ivanovych Lutsenko (March 15, 1937-June 4, 1999) - elected as people deputy of Ukraine in 1994 and 1998, secretary of Central Committee of
Communist Party of Ukraine [cite web|url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/ukrregions/data/99.html|title=Lutsenko Vitaliy Ivanovich biography|publisher=Hokkaido University |language=Russian] , mother is Vira Mikhailivna (1936) – veterinary doctor.Early political biography
Yuriy Lutsenko received his degree in Engineering in 1989 from Lviv Polytechnical Institute.
He was a long-term member (since 1991) of the
Socialist Party of Ukraine (after his appointment as a minister he suspended the membership in this party). He left the party in the summer of 2006 as a result of the party leaderOleksandr Moroz 's entering into a Parliamentary coalition with theCommunist Party of Ukraine and theParty of Regions of the previous PMYanukovych . Lutsenko belonged to so-called "right wing" of SPU which takes a pro-European position akin to social democratic parties in the rest of Europe, rather than a post-Soviet conservative socialism. Prior to his appointment to the executive branch he was people’s deputy in theVerkhovna Rada (parliament) since February 2002.2000s
Yuriy Lutsenko gained public fame as one of the leaders of the
Ukraine without Kuchma! campaign, which followed theCassette Scandal of 2000. He was also one of the "faces ofOrange revolution ".As a Minister, Lutsenko refused to run in the 2006 parliamentary election on his party list. However, he has been running for both the Kiev City Council and Rivne Oblast Council simultaneously in the lists of Socialist Party - "to make the point", as he explained. Having won these seats, Lutsenko resigned from both in favor of his Minister's position as the
Constitution of Ukraine prohibits occupying the positions in the legislative and executive branches of the government at the same time.As the Parliamentary coalition of the
Party of Regions , the Communists and the defected Socialists began to take shape, Lutsenko stated flatly that he refused to continue serving as the minister in a future government formed by these parties. However, after PresidentViktor Yushchenko agreed to allow the forming of the cabinet in exchange for several political concessions including the ability to pick the Minister of Interior, Lutsenko stated that the president asked him personally to remain as the minister, and he will do so.
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