Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed 39-year old Yulia Svyrydenko as the country’s new prime minister.
Since 2021, Svyrydenko has served as first deputy prime minister. Previously, she was the first deputy minister of economic development, trade and agriculture. She has also held senior government positions, including at the Chernihiv Regional State Administration and Department of Economic Development.
In April, she played a key role in helping to dissolve an initially tense relationship between US President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy when she travelled to Washington DC to sign the highly anticipated minerals deal with the US. The deal would ensure that the US would help fund Ukraine’s reconstruction in exchange for a stake in its large mineral wealth.
Svyrydenko trained as an economist, graduating with a Master’s degree in Antitrust Management from the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics.
She is also a Distinguished Professor of Practice and a visiting lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics in the country’s capital.
Last week, she was among a group of individuals whose positions changed as part of a major cabinet reshuffle after President Zelenskyy announced plans to resuscitate the country’s cash-strapped economy and improve their domestic arms industry.
Following her confirmation by Ukraine’s parliament, Svyrydenko said on social media that she plans to expand Ukraine’s domestic weapons production, strengthen its armed forces, and support the economy.
“Our Government sets its course toward a Ukraine that stands firm on its own foundations — military, economic, and social,” she said. “My key goal is real, positive results that every Ukrainian will feel in daily life. War leaves no room for delay. We must act swiftly and decisively.”
She pledged to move “swiftly and decisively” to ensure “reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defense forces.”
In another post, she promised to pursue deregulation, diminish bureaucracy, protect businesses and minimise non-critical expenditure to achieve the “full concentration of state resources” for defence and post-war recovery.
“The state apparatus has no right to waste the resources and potential of our country,” she said. “Ukraine deserves to be among the strongest economies in Europe.”
Her sentiments echoed the president’s remarks made during one of his nightly video addresses, when he said Ukraine would continue to “boost production of its own weapons and develop its own defence projects — our own Ukrainian and jointly with our partners”.
On X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Svyrydenko on her new appointment, adding: “We stand fully behind you as you fight for Ukraine’s survival and work for your country’s recovery and EU future.”
She also praised outgoing prime minister Denys Shmyhal, wishing him well in his new role as defence minister.
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