Viktor Yushchenko

Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Віктор Ющенко
	Official portrait, 2008
3rd President of Ukraine
	In office; 23 January 2005 – 25 February 2010
Prime Minister	Yulia Tymoshenko; Yuriy Yekhanurov; Viktor Yanukovych;
Preceded by	Leonid Kuchma
Succeeded by	Viktor Yanukovych
7th Prime Minister of Ukraine
	In office; 22 December 1999 – 29 May 2001; Cabinet Yushchenko Government
President	Leonid Kuchma
Deputy	Yuriy Yekhanurov
Preceded by	Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Succeeded by	Anatoliy Kinakh
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine
	In office; January 1993 – 22 December 1999
Preceded by	Vadym Hetman
Succeeded by	Volodymyr Stelmakh
People's Deputy of Ukraine
4th convocation
	In office; 14 May 2002 – 23 January 2005
Constituency	Independent, No. 1
Personal details
Born	23 February 1954 (age 70); Khoruzhivka, Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Our Ukraine; (2002–2003, 2005–present);
Other political; affiliations	Communist Party of Ukraine (1980–1991); Independent (1991–2002, 2004–2005)
Spouses	Svitlana Kolisnyk (divorced); Kateryna Yushchenko;
Children	Vitalina Yushchenko, Andriy Yushchenko, Sophia, Khrystyna, Taras
Alma mater	Ternopil National Economic University; Academy of Banking;
Signature
Website	www.razom.org.ua
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Border Guard unit of KGB
Years of service	1975–1976
Rank	Captain

Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, IPA: [ˈwiktor ɐnˈd⁽ʲ⁾r⁽ʲ⁾ijowɪtʃ ˈjuʃtʃenko] ^ⓘ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards the West, European Union and NATO.

Yushchenko's first career was in the banking industry. In 1993, he became governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, presiding over their response to hyperinflation and the introduction of a national currency. From 1999 to 2001 he was prime minister under President Leonid Kuchma. After his dismissal as prime minister, Yushchenko went into opposition to President Kuchma and founded Our Ukraine Bloc, which at the 2002 parliamentary election became Ukraine's most popular political force.

As an informal leader of the Ukrainian opposition coalition, he was one of the two main candidates in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, the other being Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. During the election campaign in late 2004, Yushchenko became the victim of an assassination attempt when he was poisoned with dioxin. He suffered disfigurement as a result of the poisoning, but survived. The runoff election in November 2004, won by Yanukovych, was marred by widespread accusations of election fraud, leading to the Orange Revolution and an order by the Ukrainian Supreme Court to repeat the vote. Yushchenko won the revote 52% to 44%.

Yushchenko's influence declined soon after assuming the presidency, especially after falling out with his prime minister and leading political ally Yulia Tymoshenko, as did his and his party's popularity and electoral standing. The rest of his presidency was marked by infighting, legislative deadlock and coalition crises in 2007 and in 2008. He lost re-election to Yanukovych in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, finishing in fifth place in the first round with 5.5% of the vote. Yushchenko again led Our Ukraine in the 2012 parliamentary election, but they failed to win representation.