Yulia Tymoshenko

Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko served as the prime minister of Ukraine twice: January to September 2005 and again from December 2007 until March 2010. Tymoshenko was Ukraine's first female prime minister.

Tymoshenko was born on November 27, 1960, in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). Tymoshenko studied at Dnipropetrovsk State University with a major in economics-cybernetics in the Department of Economics. In 1999 she graduated with a doctorate from Kyiv National Economic University.

In 1995, Tymoshenko became the president of United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU). At the end of 1996, she became a candidate to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Supreme Rada of Ukraine) (Ukraine Parliament). In 1999, Tymoshenko took the post of Deputy Prime Minister for fuel and energy.

In January of 2001, Tymoshenko was dispatched from the position of Deputy Prime Minister. On February 13, 2001 she was arrested and charged by the district attorney. In March, however, the Kiev City Pechersk Court found that the accusations were baseless and annulled the sanctions for the arrest.

On December 18, 2007, Tymoshenko was again elected as Prime Minister of Ukraine.

In 2011, Tymoshenko was tried and convicted of abusing her power as prime minister for signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009. Following a trail from June to October (2011), she was sentenced to seven years in jail. In November 2011 charges of tax evasion and embezzlement dating to the 1990s were seen.

Following the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, the parliament voted for her release. However, President Yanukovych fled the country without signing the bill into law. On February 22, 2014 the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council of Ukraine) adopted a decree based on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights and corresponding decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and Tymoshenko was released the same day. In February 2014 the parliament restored Tymoshenko's rights.

In March 2014, Tymoshenko announced her candidacy for the 2014 presidential election, but lost the election. In June 2018 Tymoshenko announced anther run for president in the March 2019 elections but lost the election.

Council of Women World Leads (n.d) “Yulia Tymoshenko” Council of Women World Leaders. Retrieved September 2, 2022. https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/yulia-tymoshenko.html.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15249184

Marples, D. R. (n.d.) “Yulia Tymoshenko” Britannica. Retrieved September 2, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yulia-Tymoshenko.