The Verkhovna Rada has voted to renew the government: some ministers have been retained in their posts, while others have taken up ministerial positions for the first time. The vote was broadcast by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak. A total of 253 MPs voted in favour of the resolution to form the Cabinet.
The candidates were presented by the new Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko. The voting took place the day after MPs dismissed Denys Shmyhal, which automatically led to the dismissal of all members of the government.
From yesterday until now, all of them have been in the status of acting ministers. According to the procedure, voting for the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is held separately - their candidacies are submitted by the President.
Now we have voted for the appointments:
- Mykhaylo Fedorov - First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Digital Transformation (promoted to First Vice Prime Minister)
- Oleksiy Kuleba - Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine - Minister of Community and Territorial Development (remained)
- Taras Kachka - Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (promoted - he was Yuliya Svyrydenko's deputy)
- Matviy Bidnyy - Minister of Youth and Sports (remained in office)
- Herman Halushchenko - Minister of Justice (changed the ministry - he was the head of the energy sector)
- Svitlana Hrynchuk - Minister of Energy (she was the Minister of Natural Resources Protection)
- Denys Ulyutin - Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine (promoted - he was First Deputy Minister of Finance)
- Nataliya Kalmykova - Minister of Veterans of Ukraine (retained)
- Ihor Klymenko - Minister of Internal Affairs (reappointed)
- Oksen Lisovyy - Minister of Education and Science (reappointed)
- Viktor Lyashko - Minister of Health (reappointed)
- Serhiy Marchenko - Minister of Finance (reappointed)
- Oleksiy Sobolev - Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture (he was promoted from First Deputy Minister of Economy)
The ministerial nominations were submitted by the new Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko. Yesterday, the names of most of them were announced by the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamiya, following a meeting of the faction.
The Ministry of National Unity, headed by Oleksiy Chernyshov, will no longer exist. This area was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Social Policy in advance. The Ministry of Strategic Industries was merged with the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Social Policy was added to the Ministry of Family and Unity. The Ministry of Economy was merged with the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture.
Government resignation
Rumours of the Prime Minister's resignation have been circulating year after year, and this year was no exception. This time, however, the Cabinet of Ministers was replaced.
The resignation of the head of government automatically leads to the resignation of all ministers, although Article 10 of the martial law prohibits the termination of the powers of public authorities. Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that the lawyers of the Verkhovna Rada said that it was possible to dismiss the government despite this provision.
Last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the possible dismissal of the prime minister, told the editor-in-chief of LB that if he had such an intention, he would have informed Shmyhal first, not journalists. He added that he had not had such a conversation with him.
However, on 13 July, the president said that he had held a meeting with Denys Shmyhal, and on 14 July, he proposed that Deputy Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko head the government. However, the coalition is supposed to choose the candidate for the head of government, after which the president submits it to the Verkhovna Rada.
The President offered Shmyhal to become the Minister of Defence, as he believes he has the right experience.
On 15 July, Denys Shmyhal submitted his resignation. On 16 July, it was supported by MPs. On the morning of 17 July, the Rada voted for a new head of government, Yuliya Svyrydenko.
Read more about her in the article Economist, technocrat, negotiator: what is known about Yuliya Svyrydenko.