A brief biography: Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine's envoy to the U.N. (03/15/98)

A brief biography: Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine's envoy to the U.N.

At age 38, Volodymyr Y. Yelchenko is serving his second tour of duty with the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations. He served as second secretary of the Ukrainian Mission from 1986 to 1992.

Mr. Yelchenko became the permanent representative of Ukraine to the U.N. last October, succeeding Anatolii Zlenko, who was named Ukraine's ambassador to France.

Except for a tour of duty in Croatia in 1993 as a civil affairs officer for Sector West of UNPROFOR, the U.N. peacekeeping force, Mr. Yelchenko has spent his 17-year professional career in the employ of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv.

Upon graduation from Kyiv State University in 1981 with an M.A. in international relations and international law, Mr. Yelchenko entered the ministry's Department of State Protocol as third secretary, then advanced to second secretary.

Since then, he has been serving in the ministry's Department of International Organizations in various posts, advancing from second secretary in 1984 to director in 1995.

As a delegate or representative of Ukraine, he has taken part in various sessions, meetings and conferences of the U.N. and other international organizations. His work has taken him to many countries, including Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In May 1994 Mr. Yelchenko served as electoral observer for the U.N. Observer Mission in South Africa. He was a member of Ukraine's delegations at the ministerial consultations between Ukraine and the European Union "troika," held in Rome, New York and The Hague in 1996 and 1997. In April 1997, he traveled to New Delhi as deputy of Ukraine's delegation at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

Mr. Yelchenko, who holds the diplomatic rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, was born in Kyiv in June 1959. He is fluent in English, Ukrainian and Russian. He and his wife, Iryna, have one daughter.

- Helen Smindak