Leonid Kuchma

Leonid Kuchma
Леонід Кучма
Kuchma in 2019
2nd President of Ukraine
In office 19 July 1994 – 23 January 2005
Prime Minister	Vitaliy Masol Yevhen Marchuk Pavlo Lazarenko Valeriy Pustovoitenko Viktor Yushchenko Anatoliy Kinakh Viktor Yanukovych
Preceded by	Leonid Kravchuk
Succeeded by	Viktor Yushchenko
2nd Prime Minister of Ukraine
In office 13 October 1992 – 22 September 1993
President	Leonid Kravchuk
Deputy	Ihor Yukhnovskyi Yukhym Zvyahilsky
Preceded by	Valentyn Symonenko (acting)
Succeeded by	Yukhym Zvyahilsky (acting)
Representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine
In office 3 June 2019 – 28 July 2020
President	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
General Director of Yuzhmash
In office November 1986 – 13 October 1992
Preceded by	Oleksandr Makarov
Succeeded by	Yuriy Alekseyev
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office 15 May 1990 – 15 July 1994
Constituency	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, No. 81[a] (1990–May 1994)[1] Chernihiv Oblast, No. 448 (May–July 1994)[2]
Personal details
Born	(1938-08-09) 9 August 1938 (age 86) Chaikyne, Chernihiv Oblast, Soviet Union
Political party	Independent (1991–present)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1960–1991)
Spouse	Lyudmila Talalayeva ​ (m. 1967)​
Children	Olena Pinchuk
Alma mater	Dnipropetrovsk National University
Signature
Leonid Kuchma's voice Kuchma on the formation of a European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Ukraine Recorded 7 September 2004

This article is part of a series about Leonid Kuchma
Political positions [uk] Family and personal life PA Pivdenmash Ukrainian oligarchs Dnipropetrovsk Mafia 2nd Prime Minister of Ukraine (government) Privatisation [uk] Decrees [uk] 1990s Donbas miners' strikes 2nd President of Ukraine Presidency [uk] Inaugurations [uk] Multi-Vector Policy First term (1994–1999) Constitution Denuclearisation Budapest Memorandum United States v. Lazarenko Monetary reform (1996) Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty Second term (1999–2004) Constitutional referendum (2000) Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (2001) Tuzla Island conflict (2003) Iraq War European Union integration NATO integration Post-presidency Minsk agreements Controversies and protests Funeral of Patriarch Volodymyr Assassination of Yevhen Shcherban Death of Viacheslav Chornovil Murder of Georgiy Gongadze Cassette Scandal Ukraine without Kuchma Rise up, Ukraine! Orange Revolution Governments Masol II Marchuk Lazarenko Pustovoitenko Yushchenko Kinakh Yanukovych I Elections 1990 1994 parliamentary presidential 1998 1999 2002 Media gallery
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Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Ukrainian: Леонід Данилович Кучма, IPA: [leoˈn⁽ʲ⁾id dɐˈnɪlowɪtʃ ˈkutʃmɐ]; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005.^[3] The only President of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by democratic backsliding and the growth of the Ukrainian oligarchs, as well as several scandals and improvement of Russia–Ukraine relations.

After a successful career in the machine-building industry of the Soviet Union, Kuchma began his political career in 1990, when he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament); he was re-elected in 1994. He served as Prime Minister of Ukraine between October 1992 and September 1993. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent President Leonid Kravchuk. Kuchma won re-election for an additional five-year term in 1999. Corruption accelerated after Kuchma's election in 1994, but in 2000–2001, his power began to weaken in the face of exposures in the media.^[4]

Kuchma's administration began a campaign of media censorship in 1999, leading to arrests of journalists, the death of Georgiy Gongadze, and the subsequent Cassette Scandal and mass protests.^[5] The Ukrainian economy continued to decline until 1999, whereas growth was recorded since 2000, bringing relative prosperity to some segments of urban residents. During his presidency, Ukrainian-Russian ties began to improve.^[6] Kuchma declined to seek a third term in office, instead supporting Party of Regions candidate Viktor Yanukovych for the 2004 election. Following public protests over the alleged electoral fraud which escalated into the Orange Revolution, Kuchma took a neutral stance and was a mediator between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych. Between 2014 and 2020, Kuchma was a special presidential representative of Ukraine at the quasi peace talks regarding the ongoing War in Donbas.

Kuchma's legacy has proven controversial, and he has been described as authoritarian by various sources. Widespread corruption and media censorship under Kuchma's administration continue to have an impact on Ukraine today, and he has been accused of promoting oligarchism.

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