| Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine | |
|---|---|
| Голова Верховної Ради України | |
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| Nominator | Verkhovna Rada |
| Appointer | Secret ballot |
| Term length | Five years |
| Constituting instrument | Article 88,Constitution of Ukraine Rules of the Procedures of the Verkhovna Rada |
| Precursor | Chairman of Central Executive Committee (1917–1937) Chairman of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (1937-1941, 1947–1991) Chairman of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (1991-1996) |
| Inaugural holder | Mykhailo Burmystenko |
| Formation | 30 January 1937; 88 years ago (1937-01-30)(original) 28 June 1996; 29 years ago (1996-06-28)(current form) |
| Deputy | First Deputy Chairman |
| Salary | ₴21,144 monthly[1] |
| Website | chairman.rada.gov.ua |
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 Ukraine portal |
Thechairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian:Голова Верховної Ради України,romanized: Holova Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy) is thepresiding officer of theVerkhovna Rada,Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The chairman presides over the parliament and its procedures. Chairmen are elected by open voting from the parliament's deputy ranks.[2]
Ruslan Stefanchuk is the current chairman since being confirmed on 8 October 2021.[3]
The office of chairman has existed since the ratification of the Constitution of theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on January 30, 1937.Mykhailo Burmystenko, who was appointed on January 30, 1937, was the inaugural holder of the office. The post replaced the existing position of achairman of Central Executive Committee (1917–37). Along with the chairman, from 1937 to 1996 Verkhovna Rada was also governed by thePresidium of the Verkhovna Rada that consisted of about 20 members.
There have been 18 Chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada since 1927. Until Ukraine's independence in 1991, it was titled asChairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.
According toArticle 88 of theUkrainian Constitution, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada is allowed to:[4]
The chairman is also allowed to callspecial sessions of parliament,[5] enact billsvetoed by thepresident only when the Verkhovna Rada votes to overcome the veto by atwo-thirds majority, and participate in meetings of the National Security and Defence Council.[6]
The chairman and his two assistants (deputy chairmen) cannot head factions of deputies.[7]
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada is designated as the first in theorder of succession to the presidency, with limited authority (1992–1996, 2004–2010, and 2014-Present) while new presidential elections are conducted.[8] While the chairman serves as acting president, he is barred from taking the following actions:[8]
No provisions for presidential succession are explicitly proscribed in case both the president's and chairman's positions are vacant. However, in case of vacancy of the post of Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, it is filled by deputies of the chairman.
During the Soviet era, there was one more post known as the chairman ofPresidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR who wasde jure head of state; thede facto head of state was theFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
All former chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada receive special state privileges. After the completion of their tenure, former chairmen are provided with an office in the parliament's building, an official government car and an adviser and an aide at state expense.[9]
The respective decree #296 was signed byVolodymyr Lytvyn as early as on June 7, 2006 – a month before he was dismissed from the post of Parliament's Speaker. After three years since its adoption, Verkhovna Rada officials kept silent about the law, after which it was made public by an article in theDELO newspaper in mid-May 2009.[9]