| Oleksandr Ivanovich Kuzmuk Олекса́ндр Іва́нович Кузьму́к | |
|---|---|
| |
| 4th and 7th Minister of Defense | |
In office 24 September 2004 – 3 February 2005 | |
| President | Leonid Kuchma |
| Preceded by | Yevhen Marchuk |
| Succeeded by | Anatoliy Hrytsenko |
In office 11 July 1996 – 24 October 2001 | |
| President | Leonid Kuchma |
| Preceded by | Valeriy Shmarov |
| Succeeded by | Volodymyr Shkidchenko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oleksandr Ivanovich Kuzmuk April 17, 1954 Diatylivka, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukrainian SSR |
| Political party | Party of Regions |
| Spouse(s) | Lyudmila |
| Children | Ivan and Maria |
| Alma mater | Kharkiv Higher Armor Command College Malynovsky Military Academy of Armor Forces |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union (to 1991) Ukraine
|
| Service/branch |  Soviet Union Army Ukraine Army
|
| Years of service | 1975 - 2001 |
| Rank | General of Army of Ukraine |
| Commands | 32nd Army Corps Ukrainian National Guard |
Oleksandr Kuzmuk (Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Іва́нович Кузьму́к; born 17 April 1954) is a Ukrainian politician and military officer, who is member of the Party of Regions and was the Minister of Defense of Ukraine (1996–2001, 2004–2005). Kuzmuk formerly commanded the National Guard of Ukraine (1995–1996) and holds the highest rank in the Ukrainian military, General of the Army of Ukraine (1998).
Biography[]
Kuzmuk was born on April 17, 1954 in a family of military officer Ivan Fedorovych Kuzmuk (?-1973) and Rayisa Mykhailivna Kuzmuk in a village of Diatylivka, Slavuta Raion (Khmelnytskyi Oblast). In 1975 he graduated the Kharkiv Higher Armor Command College. In 1975-80 Kuzmuk starting out as a platoon leader of armor forces served until becoming the deputy chief of staff of an armor regiment. In 1980-83 he was an audit student of the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy (Moscow). After that until 1988 Kuzmuk was an instructor at the academy.
In 1988-93 he was in leading positions of mechanized rifle division. From 1975 to 1993 Kuzmuk served in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Belorussian Military District, Moscow Military District, Leningrad Military District, Carpathian Military District and Odessa Military District. In 1993-95 he was a commander of the 32nd Army Corps, senior military chief of Crimea.
In 1995-96 Kuzmuk was a commander of the National Guard of Ukraine and in 1996-2001 - the Minister of Defense. At the end of 2001 he finished his military career and became a politician by participating in the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election on the party list of For United Ukraine. Soon after winning some seats in the Verkhovna Rada, For United Ukraine fell apart and Kuzmuk stayed with the Labour Ukraine (an off-shot of the Labour Party of Ukraine). During that time in 2004 he was again appointed the Minister of Defense, while keeping his parliamentary seat. After the Orange Revolution Kuzmuk lost his ministerial seat and was replaced by Anatoliy Hrytsenko.
In the 2012 parliamentary election Kuzmuk was elected into parliament as a member of Party of Regions.[1]
In the 2014 parliamentary election Kuzmuk tried to win a parliamentary seat through winning electoral district 38 situated in Novomoskovsk; but failed when he ended 3rd in the district with 12.78%.[2] The announcement of the final result for electoral district 38 (won by Vadym Nesterenko) was delayed till mid-November because Kuzmuk challenged the results in court claiming Nesterenko was guilty of fraud and bribery of voters.[1]
Awards and decorations[]
Kuzmuk has been awarded the following awards and decorations:[3]
- Award of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for "Valor and Honor"
- Honorary pistol
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 1st Class
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd Class
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd Class
- Order of Danylo Halytsky
- Order of Merit, 3rd Class
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (in Ukrainian) In the 38th district of Dnipropetrovsk stop recount, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (17 November 2014)
- ↑ (in Ukrainian) Candidates and winners for the seat of constituency #38 in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, RBK Ukraine
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in Ukrainian). http://www.ya2006.com.ua/partiya/kuzmuk/. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
External links[]
- Unknown kidnapped a Colonel General in Crimea. Espreso. March 5, 2014
- Leadership of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
- Commanders of the National Guard of Ukraine. National Guard of Ukraine website.
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The original article can be found at Oleksandr Kuzmuk and the edit history here.