Cabinet of Ukraine

The Cabinet of Ukraine (also called the Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian: Кабінет Міністрів України) is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine^[1] also referred to as the Government of Ukraine (Uryad Ukrayiny). The first modern national government of Ukraine was established in 1917 as the regional government of the Russian Empire - General Secretariat.

The Cabinet is a collegiate body consisting of several ministries that are headed by their respective minister. The Prime Minister of Ukraine presides over the Cabinet and is assisted by his First Vice Premier and other Vice Premier ministers. The Secretariat of Cabinet of Ministers ensures the operations of the cabinet.

Scope

The number of ministries in the cabinet has changed over time, some ministries were abolished, others combined with others or degraded to state committees or agencies. The Cabinet is responsible to the President of Ukraine and is under the control and being held accountable to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). It consists of the Prime Minister, the First Vice-Prime Minister, three^[2] Vice-Prime Ministers, and other Ministers, who head their assigned Ministries (departments). At one point of time there also was an institute of "state ministries" that was majorly abolished on February 25, 1992 by the Presidential Decree (#98). There also is the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine that used to head by the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, but eventually lost the ministerial portfolio. Structural part of the secretariat is also the office of the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Members of the government (cabinet) are citizens of Ukraine, who have the right of vote, higher education, and possess the state language (Ukrainian language). The members of the government cannot have judgement against them that has not been extinguished and taken away in the established legal order.

The Cabinet is steered by the Prime Minister, chosen from the parliament with the President's formal proposal. The 13th and latest Cabinet was chosen on On March 11, 2010 and is headed by Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.^[3]

Parts of Cabinet meetings are broadcasted live on Ukrainian TV.^[4]

Important addresses

• 12/2 vulytsia Mykhaila Hrushevskoho (Main building, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Finance)
• 7 vulytsia Mykhaila Hrushevskoho (Ministry of Health Security)
• 24 vulytsia Khreshchatyk (Ministry of Agrarian Policy)
• 30 vulytsia Khreshchatyk (Ministry of Fuel and Energy)
• 14 prospekt Peremohy (Ministry of Infrastructure)
• 10 prospekt Peremohy (Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports)
• 10 vulytsia Akademika Bohomoltsia (Ministry of Interior)
• 35 vulytsia Urytskoho (Ministry of Ecology)
• 1 Mykhailivska ploshcha (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• 19 vulytsia Ivana Franka (Ministry of Culture)
• 55a vulytsia Olesia Honchara (Ministry of Extraordinary Situations)
• 6 prospekt Povitroflotskyi (Ministry of Defense)
• 24 vulytsia Dymytrova (Ministry of Regional Development)
• 8/10 vulytsia Espanaldna (Ministry of Social Policy)
• 13 vulytsia Horodetskoho (Ministry of Justice)

Duties and authority

The duties of the cabinet of ministers are described in the Article 116 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Authority

The Cabinet issues resolutions and orders that are mandatory for execution. Normative legal acts of the Cabinet, ministries, and other central bodies of executive power are subject to registration. Failure to register invalidates the act. (see Article 117)

Appointment and dismissal

Under the terms of Article 83 of Ukraine's Constitution (with amendments of 2004) a governing coalition needs to be formed by factions (rather than by individuals) that represent a majority of the parliament (Verkhovna Rada), a "coalition of parliamentary factions" (Ukrainian: Коаліція парламентських партій).^[5] A February 2010 law on the parliament's regulations does demand both a decision by the factions and 226 signatures by Members of Parliament.^[6] On October 1, 2010, however, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine recognized the constitutional amendments of 2004 illegal, thus abolishing the principal of coalition creation in the parliament (Constitution of Ukraine).

The Prime Minister, following his appointment, nominates other members of the Cabinet (19 ministers) for approval by the Verkhovna Rada,^[7] except for the Minister of the Foreign Affairs and one of Defense, who are both nominated by the President. The President can dismiss any government minister or deputy minister unilaterally at any time.^[8][9]

Members of the Cabinet and chief officers of central and local bodies of executive power may not combine their official activity with other work, except teaching, scholarly and creative activity outside of working hours, and/or to be members of an administrative body or board of supervisors of an enterprise that is aimed at making profit.

List of current ministries

Some Important Agencies

Agencies with Special Status

• Anti-Monopoly Committee (Ukraine) - Vasyl Tsushko
• Fund of State Property (Ukraine) - Oleksandr Ryabchenko
• State Committee in Television and Radio-broadcasting (Ukraine) - Oleksandr Kurdinovych
• National Agency of the State Service - Viacheslav Tolkovanov

Other Agencies

• Security Service of Ukraine - Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi
• State Border Service of Ukraine - Mykola Lytvyn
• National Space Agency of Ukraine - Yuriy Alekseyev
• General Prosecutor of Ukraine - Viktor Pshonka
• National Bank of Ukraine - Serhiy Arbuzov
• Secretariat of Cabinet of Ministers - Kostyantyn Lyubchenko
• Ukrinform - Oleksandr Detsyk
• Representative of the President of Ukraine - Iryna Akimova (First Deputy of the Head of Presidential Administration)

Newspaper

• Uryadovyi Kurier (newspaper) (Government Courier)

Independent agencies

• Central Election Commission of Ukraine
• National Council for Television and Radiobroadcasting (Ukraine) (nrada.gov.ua)

Current Cabinet

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) dismissed the second Tymoshenko Government on March 3, 2010.^[10][11] The Ukrainian Constitution stipulates that before a new government is endorsed, the outgoing Cabinet stays on as a caretaker government. Thus the minister from the second Tymoshenko Government stayed on as acting ministers.^[11][12][12] A new coalition had to be formed 30 days and a government within 60 (days from March 3, 2010), or a snap parliamentary election was to be held.^[10] Amid controversy Ukrainian lawmakers formed a new coalition on March 11, 2010 which included Bloc Lytvyn, Communist Party of Ukraine and Party of regions.^[13] 235 deputies from the 450-member Verkhovna Rada signed the coalition agreement.^[14] On March 11, 2010, the Verkhovna Rada approved the structure of the current Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.^[3] On October 1, 2010 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine overturned the 2004 Constitutional Amendments, considering them unconstitutional.^[15][16] The motion was filed on July 14 of that year by the representatives of the Azarov Government. On December 9, 2010 the President of Ukraine reloaded a new government.^[17] According to the decree, the number of ministries was reduced from 20 to 16 and the number of cabinet employees (1,174 people at the time) is to be more than halved.^[18]

Current composition

See also

• General Secretariat of Ukraine
• Council of People's Ministers
• People's Secretariat
• Council of People's Commissars (Ukraine)

References

External links

• Governmental Portal of Ukraine - official site of the Cabinet of Ministers
• (Ukrainian) 2010 changes to the cabinet of ministers ((English) President launches administrative reform)
• (Ukrainian) The Presidential order of Ukraine 1085/2010 about the optimization of an executive power central bodies ((English) Decree of the President of Ukraine № 1085 of 12.09.2010)
• Presidential decree #179/96 "General declaration about ministry and other government body of executive power" (Official document)
• Law of Ukraine about the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Official document)