Is Yatseniuk Preparing to Run for Ukraine’s Presidency?

Arseniy Yatseniuk, a 34-year old Ukrainian politician, appears ready to become a candidate in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election. Yatseniuk, who claims to have no allies amongst the current major politicians, has created a new political party called Change Front Citizens Initiative. According to a recent public opinion poll, a Yatseniuk-led political party would gain more than 3% of the vote, thus gaining seats in Parliament.

The following is a list of Yatseniuk’s past experience:

2001-2003: Economic Minister - Crimea
2003-2004: First Vice President - Ukraine’s Central Bank
2004-2005: Acting Head of Ukraine’s Central Bank
2005: Vice Governor of Odessa Oblast (under Socialist Vasyl Tsushko)
2005-2006: Economic Minister - Ukraine
2006: Deputy Head of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Administration
2007: Foreign Minister - Ukraine
2007-2008: Speaker of Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament)

Webster Brooks has posted an interesting article in the Brooks Foreign Policy Review about the possibilities of a Yatseniuk presidency - “Can Arseniy Yatsenyuk Save Ukraine from Itself.” The article compares Yatseniuk to Barak Obama’s quick rise in the U.S. If you are interested in Ukrainian politics, this article is definitely a worthwhile read.

Photo: NATO