THE NEW VERKHOVNA RADA: Who got what on parliamentary committees (06/30/02)

THE NEW VERKHOVNA RADA: Who got what on parliamentary committees

by Jan Maksymiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

On June 7 the Verkhovna Rada voted 235-7, with three abstentions, to approve a resolution whereby Our Ukraine will head 10 parliamentary committees, the Communist Party six, United Ukraine four, the Socialist Party and the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc two each, and the Social Democratic Party one.

The vote appeared to be a compromise after the much-lamented election of the Parliament chairman and two vice-chairmen. Judging by who took part in the vote and who did not, however, it is possible to conclude that the distribution of the posts of committee chairs and first vice-chairs may be a source of future animosities between, and within, pro-presidential and "non-presidential" parliamentary groups.

The distribution of committee posts was endorsed by 89 lawmakers from United Ukraine, 50 from Our Ukraine, 61 from the Communist Party and 30 from the Social Democratic Party (United).

The Socialist Party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc refused to take part in the vote. Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz explained to journalists that his caucus missed the vote because of a prolonged sitting. UNIAN quoted Ms. Tymoshenko as saying that her group refused to vote purposefully since, she argued, "getting one or two committees absolutely does not resolve the nationwide issue of overcoming the crisis in Ukraine."

Below is a list of Verkhovna Rada committees with the names of their chairs and first vice-chairs, respectively (in some cases there are two lawmakers who were reported by Ukrainian media as being "first vice-chairs"). [N.B.: The full official names of all committees include the phrase "the Committee for Issues of," which is omitted in the following compilation.]

1. Legal Policy: Vasyl Onopenko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc); Mykola Onyschuk (United Ukraine).

2. State-Building and Local Self-Government: Anatolii Matvienko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc); Viktor Slauta (United Ukraine).

3. Social Policy and Labor: Vasyl Khara (Communist Party); Viacheslav Kyrylenko (Our Ukraine).

4. Protection of Health, Maternity and Childhood: Mykola Polischuk (Our Ukraine); Mykhailo Loboda (Communist Party).

5. Youth Policy, Physical Training, Sports and Tourism: Kateryna Samoilyk (Communist Party); Ravil Saffiullin (United Ukraine).

6. Science and Education: Stanislav Nikolayenko (Socialist Party); Ihor Yukhnovskyi (Our Ukraine).

7. Culture and Spirituality: Les Taniuk (Our Ukraine); Pavlo Movchan (Our Ukraine).

8. Economic Policy and Management, Ownership and Investment: Stanislav Hurenko (Communist Party); Volodymyr Demiokhin (United Ukraine).

9. Budget: Petro Poroshenko (Our Ukraine); Valerii Konovaliuk (United Ukraine) and Liudmyla Suprun (United Ukraine).

10. Finances and Banking Activity: Serhii Buriak (United Ukraine); Viktor Kapustin (Our Ukraine) and Vasyl Tsushko (Socialist Party).

11. Industrial Policy and Entrepre-neurship: Yurii Yekhanurov (Our Ukraine); Vadym Hurov (United Ukraine).

12. Fuel and Power Industries, Nuclear Policy and Safety: Andrii Kluyev (United Ukraine); Mykola Martynenko (Our Ukraine).

13. Construction, Transport and Communications: Valerii Pustovoitenko (United Ukraine); Anatolii Liovin (Social Democrats) and Stanislav Dovhyi (United Ukraine).

14. Agrarian Policy and Land Relations: Ivan Tomych (Our Ukraine); Vasyl Kalinchuk (United Ukraine).

15. Foreign Affairs: Dmytro Tabachnyk (United Ukraine); Oleh Hrachov (Communist Party).

16. Environmental Policy, the Use of Natural Resources and Dealing with the Aftermath of the Chornobyl Disaster: Ivan Rizak (Social Democrats); Ivan Zayets (Our Ukraine).

17. Legislative Support to Law-Enforcement Activities: Volodymyr Moisyk (Our Ukraine); Oleksander Bandurka (United Ukraine).

18. The Struggle against Organized Crime and Corruption: Volodymyr Stretovych (Our Ukraine); Ivan Vernydubov (United Ukraine).

19. National Security and Defense: Heorhii Kriuchkov (Communist Party); Borys Andresiuk (Social Democrats).

20. Regulations, Deputy Ethics and the Organization of Work of the Verkhovna Rada: Valentyn Matveyev (Communist Party); Vasyl Havryliuk (United Ukraine) and Serhii Sas (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc).

21. Freedom of Expression and Information: Mykola Tomenko (Our Ukraine); Serhii Pravdenko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc).

22. Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations: Hennadii Udovenko (Our Ukraine); Mykola Shulha (Communist Party).

23. Pensioners and Disabled Persons: Petro Tsybenko (Communist Party); Valerii Alioshyn (Our Ukraine).

24. European Integration: Borys Tarasyuk (Our Ukraine); Oleh Zarubinskyi (United Ukraine).

25. Special Monitoring Commission for Issues of Privatization: Valentyna Semeniuk (Socialist Party); Liudmyla Kyrychenko (United Ukraine).

The same resolution appointed Valentyn Zaichuk as chief of the Verkhovna Rada administration staff.

| Home Page |