Viktor Yushchenko

Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: ?????? ?????????? ??????) (born 23 February 1954) is the President of Ukraine. As leader of the Our Ukraine (Nasha Ukrayina) political coalition, he was the main opposition candidate in the October–November 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Ukraine's Central Election Commission declared him the winner of the 26 December 2004 re-run of the runoff election, by 52% to 44% over Viktor Yanukovych. Yushchenko had previously served as the chairman of the country's central bank from 1993 to 1999 and as the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 1999 to 2001.

Family and private life

Yushchenko is married to Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko (his second wife). She is a Ukrainian-American born in Chicago and a former official with the U.S. State Department, where she worked as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. Opponents of Yushchenko have criticized her for remaining a U.S. citizen. During the recent election campaign, Kateryna was accused of exerting the influence of the U.S. government on her husband's decisions, as an employee of the U.S. government or even a CIA agent. Russian television journalist Mikhail Leontyev had earlier accused her of leading a U.S. project to help Yushchenko seize power in Ukraine; in January 2002, she won a libel case against him. Ukraine's pro-government Inter television channel repeated Leontyev's allegations in 2001 but in January 2003 she won a libel case against the channel as well.

Related Topics:
Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko - Chicago - U.S. State Department - U.S. - Citizen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yushchenko has five children: three daughters and two sons.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yushchenko's main hobbies are Ukrainian traditional culture (including folk ceramics and archaeology), mountaineering and beekeeping. Each year he climbs Hoverla, Ukraine's highest mountain. After receiving a checkup in which doctors determined he was healthy despite the previous year's dioxin poisoning, he successfully climbed the mountain again on July 16, 2005.

Related Topics:
Ukrainian - Folk - Ceramics - Archaeology - Mountaineering - Beekeeping - Hoverla - July 16 - 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~