Anatoliy Hrytsenko

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Stepanovych and the family name is Hrytsenko.

Anatoliy Hrytsenko
Анатолій Гриценко
Hrytsenko in 2006
Minister of Defence of Ukraine
In office 4 February 2005[1] – 18 December 2007
Prime Minister	Yulia Tymoshenko Yuriy Yekhanurov Viktor Yanukovych
Preceded by	Oleksandr Kuzmuk[2]
Succeeded by	Yuriy Yekhanurov
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office 15 December 2007[3] – 27 November 2014
Personal details
Born	(1957-10-25) 25 October 1957 (age 67) Bahachivka [uk], Cherkasy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Political party	Civil Position[4]
Spouses	Liudmyla Mykhailivna ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 2002)​ Yuliia Volodymyrivna Mostova ​ ​ (m. 2003)​ [5]
Children	with Liudmyla Hrytsenko: –Oleksii (b. 1979) –Svitlana (b. 1982) with Yulia Mostova: –Hanna (b. 2004) –Hlib Razumkov (b. 1998, stepson)
Residence	Kyiv

Anatoliy Stepanovych Hrytsenko (Ukrainian: Анатолій Степанович Гриценко; born 25 October 1957) is a Ukrainian politician, independent^{[nb 1]} deputy of the 7th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, former Minister of Defence, and member of the Our Ukraine political party and leader of the Civil Position party.^[4][6][7]

Education

Hrytsenko graduated from Kyiv Higher Military Aviation Engineering School on 23 June 1979.^[8] On 10 December 1984 he was awarded a Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) degree from Kyiv Higher Military Aviation Engineering School.^[9] And in 1993 Hrytsenko graduated from the Defense Language Institute of the United States Department of Defense. On 6 June 1994 he graduated from the Resident Program of the U.S. Air War College^[10] And on 30 October 1995 Hrytsenko graduated from the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.^[11]

Hrytsenko is author of more than 100 scientific papers published in Ukraine, Belgium, the Netherlands, United States, Germany and Switzerland.^[5]

Army career

Hrytsenko served 25 years in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in combat units, as teacher at the military college and in staff positions in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.^[5]

Hrytsenko's rank was colonel.^[5]

From December 1999 till 2004 he worked as a military consultant in various firms.^[5]

In February 2000 Hrytsenko served as Freelance Consultant on the Committee on National Security and Defence of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) and in November 2000 as a member of the Public Council of Experts on domestic issues of the President of Ukraine.^[5]

Political career

In 2004 Hrytsenko worked in the election headquarters (for the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election) of Viktor Yushchenko and took an active part in the writing his election program.^[5]

Minister of Defence

Hrytsenko became Minister of Defence in the First Tymoshenko Government in February 2005, he continued this position in the Yekhanurov Government.^[5] On 4 August 2006, he was appointed again as head of the Ministry of Defence in the government of Viktor Yanukovych on the quota of President Yushchenko.^[5]

As Minister of Defense, Hrytsenko took up the issues of financing and reforming the Armed Forces. In 2005, for the first time in recent years, the army was fully funded. In 2006, its budget grew by 51% and reached ₴8.9 billion. Compared to 2004, in 2005 combat training indicators increased by an average of 40-50%.^[12]

In 2007, when Hrytsenko was the Minister of Defense, a military hospital in Dnipropetrovsk was sold to a private company. After that, the former military facility was given to the Russian VTB Bank, which later received direct control over this hospital. Petro Poroshenko's commissioner for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donetsk and Lugansk Oblasts stated that "Today, in fact, the hospital where our guys are being treated belongs to the invader country." In October 2014, this information was confirmed by Valeriy Heletey who served as Minister of Defense at the time.^[13][14]

People's Deputy

In the early 2007 parliamentary elections he was elected into the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) as number 4 on the party list of the pro-president Yushchenko Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc.^[5] Although this bloc was part of the Second Tymoshenko Government Yuriy Yekhanurov became Minister of Defense in this cabinet.^{[15][16][17][18]}

In January 2010 Hrytsenko became party leader of Civil Position.^[19] Hrytsenko was a candidate for President of Ukraine in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections,^[20] and in the election he received 1.2% of the votes (finishing ninth^[5]).^[21] In the second round he called on voting against both candidates (Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych).^[22] Civil Position gained one seat in the Ternopil city council during the 2010 Ukrainian local elections.^[23]

Hrytsenko in October 2012

During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Hrytsenko was elected into the Verkhovna Rada as 3rd on the electoral list of Batkivshchyna.,^[24][25][26] but he later resigned from Rada because of disagreements with the faction.^[27][28][29]

Since 2014 unsuccessful attempts to get elected

Hrytsenko was one of the candidates for presidency in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. According to the opinion poll ordered by 1+1 TV channel and conducted by GfK Ukraine on 6–8 May, 5.6 per cent of the surveyed planned to vote for him.^[30] In the election he received 5.48% of the vote, ranking him in 4th place.^[31]

In the 2014 parliamentary election Civil Position took part on a joint list with members of the Democratic Alliance.^[32] For elections in single member constituencies, both parties participated separately.^[33] In the election the alliance failed to clear the 5% election threshold (it got 3.1% of the votes) and also both parties did not win a constituency seat and thus no parliamentary seats.^[34]

On 4 April 2018, National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) informed that the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office initiated a criminal proceeding based on results of state financial audit of "Viysktorhservis" consortium.^[35][36] Representatives of public organizations called on the Prosecutor General to check these facts.^[37]

Hrytsenko's Civil Position nominated Hrytsenko as a candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election on 11 January 2019.^[38] Hrytsenko's candidacy was supported by the European Party of Ukraine, Native Land, Alternative, and Wave.^[39] On 1 March (2019) fellow candidates Andriy Sadovyi and Dmytro Gnap withdrew from the election and urged (their) voters to support Hrytsenko.^[40][41] On 7 March Dmytro Dobrodomov stepped out of the election also in favor of Hrytsenko.^[42] During the 2019 presidential election campaign Hrytsenko proposed to create a Ukrainian military reserve force and to legalize firearms (including registration of all firearms).^[43] In the election Hrytsenko did not proceed to the second round of the election; in the first round he placed fifth with 6.91% of the votes.^[44]

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Civil Position gained 1.04% of the national vote and no parliamentary seats.^[45]

Awards

• Honorary weapon – Fort-12 pistol (25 October 2007)^[46][47]

Earnings

According to the declaration, in 2016, Hrytsenko earned ₴150,000. He has four apartments in Kyiv (with an area of 56.2 m², 80.2 m², 32.9 m² and 110.3 m²), a car Volvo XC90, as well as €106,000 in bank accounts.^[48][49]

Personal life

• From 1978 to 2002, he was married to Lyudmila. The couple had two children.^[50][51]
  • Olexiy (born 1979) graduated from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, he was a forward and then vice president of the Berkut Hockey Club,^[52][51] director of business development at the Enran Telecom research and production company, and first deputy head of the Youth Union of Our Ukraine party. In 2006, Enran Telecom (in which Olexiy Hrytsenko was working at the moment) became one of the co-executives of the project to create a unified automated system for managing of administrative and business processes in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. About ₴100 million was allocated for the implementation of the project.^[53][54]
  • The eldest daughter Svetlana (born 1982) graduated from school with a gold medal, received a bachelor's degree in international economics from the Kyiv National Economic University and a master's degree in international business from University of Stirling in Scotland. Svetlana worked as an expert at the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies (UCEPS) and in the election headquarters of Viktor Yushchenko, then became the press secretary of the Berkut Hockey Club and the project manager for the Kyiv office of The PBN Company.^[51]
• Anatoliy Hrytsenko is married to Yulia Volodymyrivna Mostova, a chief editor of well known Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia and a widow of Oleksandr Razumkov.^[55] Hrytsenko and Mostova had to celebrate the wedding seven times, most recently in June 2003, together with the then-future Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his wife Kateryna Chumachenko.^[56] On 6 March 2016, the couple married in the church.^[57]
  • Hrytsenko and Mostova have a daughter Anna (born 2004), also Mostova have a son Hlib (born 1999) - the youngest son of Razumkov.^[51]

Notes

1. In the Ukrainian context, an MP is considered independent if he/she does not belong to any faction represented in the parliament, hence, not necessarily non-partisan. The Ukrainian term is позафракційний which literally means out of a faction.

References

1. "Order of President on appointment of Anatoliy Hrytsenko on Ukraine Minister of Defence position". 2005-02-04.
2. "Order of President on dismissal of Oleksandr Kuzmuk from Ukraine Minister of Defence position". 2005-02-03.
3. You Scratch My Back, and I’ll Scratch Yours, The Ukrainian Week (26 September 2012)
4. (in Ukrainian) Політична партія „Громадянська позиція“, Database DA-TA
5. (in Russian) Short bio, LIGA
6. Western Ukrainian intelligentsia calls on candidates for president to withdraw in favor of Tymoshenko Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine (October 1, 2009)
7. Civil Position organization has chance to become 160th political party Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Radio Ukraine (December 11, 2008)
8. "Diploma of Kyiv Military Aviation School". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21.
9. "PhD from Kyiv Military Aviation School". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21.
10. "Diploma of Air University". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21.
11. "Diploma of Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21.
12. Volodymyr Kravchenko (24 February 2006). ""Белая книга" с "чёрной отметиной"" (in Russian). Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
13. "Проданный во времена Гриценко военный госпиталь оказался в руках русских – "5 канал"" (in Russian). Ukrainian News Agency. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
14. "Проданный военный госпиталь оказался в руках россиян - СМИ" (in Russian). 1+1 / TSN. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
15. Tymoshenko asks President to dismiss Yekhanurov as Defense Minister, UNIAN (May 20, 2009)
16. Tymoshenko Initiating Yekhanurov’s Dismissal, Ukrainian News Agency (May 20, 2009)
17. Minister Yekhanurov Not Intending To Step Down, Ukrainian News Agency (May 20, 2009)
18. Yekhanurov denies reports of corrupt schemes at defense ministry, Interfax-Ukraine (May 20, 2009)
19. (in Ukrainian) Hritsenko will go on at the head of the party renamed?, Ukrayinska Pravda (February 12, 2010)
20. "Hrytsenko joins the fight for the presidency". URA-Inform (in Russian). May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
21. (in Ukrainian) ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів, Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)
22. Tymoshenko’s Looming Defeat: How Did She Make It Inevitable? Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, Serhiy Kudelia (January 29, 2010)
23. (in Ukrainian) Results of the elections, preliminary data, on interactive maps by Ukrayinska Pravda (November 8, 2010)
24. (in Ukrainian) Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 November 2012)
25. They Call Themselves the Opposition, The Ukrainian Week (31 August 2012)
26. Hrytsenko refused to sign statement of opposition Archived January 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (13.11.2012)
27. Batkivschyna demands Hrytsenko resign as MP, Interfax-Ukraine (18 June 2013)
28. Hrytsenko agrees to abandon parliamentary seat^{[permanent dead link‍]}, Ukrainian Television and Radio (18 June 2013)
29. Hrytsenko resigns from parliament, Interfax-Ukraine (17 January 2014)
30. "Порошенко тотально лідирує в електоральних симпатіях українців, Тігіпко трохи випереджає Тимошенко - опитування GFK" (in Ukrainian). Finance.ua. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
31. "Poroshenko wins presidential election with 54.7% of vote - CEC". Radio Ukraine International. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014.
    (in Russian) Results election of Ukrainian president, Телеграф (29 May 2014)
32. (in Ukrainian) The party decided Gritsenko, who will go to Council, Ukrayinska Pravda (7 September 2014)
33. Hrytsenko's party gave to "Demalliance" two places in the top ten. LB. 7 September 2014
34. Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament Archived 2014-11-10 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrainian Television and Radio (8 November 2014)
    People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC Archived November 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
    Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
35. "СМИ нашли документы о сомнительной продаже Гриценко 24 га земли ВСУ в Киеве" (in Russian). UNIAN. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
36. "Опубликованы документы о сомнительной продаже Гриценко 24 га земли ВСУ в Киеве - УНИАН" (in Russian). KP. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
37. "Снегирев призвал ГПУ расследовать продажу Гриценко земли Минобороны под Киевом" (in Russian). ZIK TV Channel. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
38. (in Ukrainian) Hrytsenko formally nominated a presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 January 2019)
39. (in Ukrainian) The presidential candidate, Gritsenko, promised to cut off his hands, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 January 2019)
40. "Sadovyi withdraws from presidential race in favor of Hrytsenko". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
41. (in Ukrainian) Gnap also withdraws from the elections in favor of Hritsenko, Ukrayinska Pravda (1 March 2019)
42. (in Ukrainian) Another candidate appeared in favor of Gritsenko, Ukrayinska Pravda (7 March 2019)
43. (in Ukrainian) Hrytsenko promises to legalize firearms and create a voluntary army, Ukrayinska Pravda (25 March 2019)
44. (in Ukrainian) Results of the presidential election in 2019. The first round, Ukrayinska Pravda (31 March 2019)
45. CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
    (in Russian) Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 July 2019)
46. Указ Президента України № 1019/2007 від 25 жовтня 2007 року «Про нагородження А. Гриценка відзнакою „Іменна вогнепальна зброя“» (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
47. Igor Yelkov (4 September 2008). Наган от министра. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 26 November 2018.
48. "Декларація про доходи Анатолія Гриценка за 2016 рік" (in Ukrainian). Anatoliy Hrytsenko's personal site. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
49. Vitalii Rybak (21 May 2018). "Former Defense Minister Hrytsenko Is Finally Having His Moment in the Sun". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
50. Valeriya Savchenko, Alla Kotlyar (5 March 2005). В тылу власти (in Russian). Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
51. Министр обороны Анатолий Гриценко: «Была ситуация, когда моей женой увлёкся другой. Этого человека в Украине уже нет» (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii. 10 February 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
52. Гриценко Алексей Анатольевич (in Russian). Amateur Hockey League. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
53. Кто мешает работе Антикоррупционного бюро? (in Russian). KP. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
54. Министр без диплома (in Russian). From-UA. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
55. Мостовая Юлия Владимировна (in Russian). Livyy bereh. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
56. Анатолий Гриценко: Политик с пламенным сердцем (in Russian). tv.ua. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
57. Анатолий Гриценко обвенчался с Юлией Мостовой через 13 лет в браке (in Russian). gazeta.ua. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2018.

External links

• Biography by Taras Kuzio
• (in Ukrainian) Personal web-site Archived 2009-03-18 at the Wayback Machine

Political offices
Preceded by Oleksandr Kuzmuk	Minister of Defense 2005–2007	Succeeded by Yuriy Yekhanurov