Natalie Jaresko

Natalie Jaresko Наталія Яресько
Minister of Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 December 2014
Prime Minister	Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Preceded by	Oleksandr Shlapak
Personal details
Born	(1965-04-24) 24 April 1965 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	DePaul University Harvard University

Natalie Ann Jaresko (Ukrainian: Наталія Енн Яресько; born 24 April 1965) is an American-born Ukrainian investment banker who has served as Ukraine's Minister of Finance since 2014.

Personal life

Jaresko was born on 24 April 1965 in Elmhurst, Illinois.^[1] She is the daughter of Maria (Mary) and Ivan (John) Jaresko, both Ukrainian immigrants to the United States, and was raised with two siblings in Wood Dale, Illinois.^[2][3] Although her family spoke mainly English, she attended Ukrainian school on Saturdays and the Ukrainian Orthodox church on Sundays.^[3]

Jaresko is bilingual in English and Ukrainian. She received a B.Sc. degree in accounting from DePaul University, Chicago in 1987 and a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1989.^[2] Jaresko divorced in 2011 and has two daughters, born around 1999 and 2005, who live with her in Ukraine.^[3][2]

Citzenship

Jaresko lived in Ukraine from 1992 to 2000, and returned in 2004.^[4][5] She received Ukrainian citizenship on 2 December 2014, the day of her appointment as Minister of Finance of Ukraine.^[6][7] She remains a U.S. citizen. Although the U.S. does not prohibit dual citizenship, Ukrainian law states that she must renounce her non-Ukrainian citizenship(s) within two years.

Career

Jaresko held several economics-related positions at the US Department of State in Washington, D.C., and eventually coordinated activities of the State Department, the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, the United States Trade Representative, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in their economic relations with the Soviet Union and its successors. As part of her work she interacted with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Later from 1992 to 1995, she was the first Chief of the Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, responsible for strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.^[4] In 2003 she was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Princess Olga for her contributions to the Ukrainian economy.^[8][9]

Between 2005 and 2010 Jaresko was a member of President Viktor Yushchenko's Foreign Investors Advisory Council and the Advisory Board of the Ukrainian Center for Promotion of Foreign Investment under the auspices of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.^[8][9]

Jaresko also held several key positions in the private business sector. In February 2001 she became President and Chief Executive Officer of Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF). In 2006, she co-founded Horizon Capital, where she served as a Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer. In those positions she established and strengthened economic ties with Ukraine and Moldova.^[8][9]

References