Avakov Arsen

Arsen AVAKOV is the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine since February 27, 2014. He holds several positions within the Ukrainian Parliament, such as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislation of Ukraine, Committee on Rules, Ethics and Support of Work of Verkhovna Rada, a Member of the Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission of Verkhovna Rada and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and a Member of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Mr. Avakov has more than 33 years of working experience. During parliamentary elections in October 2012, Mr. Avakov was elected as Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the VII convocation in multi-member districts. He was number 24 in the electoral list of the political party "Bat`kyvshchyna." He was also elected as a representative of the Kharkiv Regional Council, V and VI convocation. In October 2010, Mr. Avakov ran for the mayor of Kharkiv, however, as reported by the international human rights organization Freedom House, the outcome of mayoral elections in Kharkiv was changed in favor to Gennady Kernes as a result of massive violations. On April 21, 2010, he joined the party Bat`kyvshchyna, serving as a head of Kharkiv regional organization of the party and a member of its political council. In March 2005, he was elected to the Council of the People's Union "Nasha Ukraina" as a member of the Presidium of the party. From February 4, 2005, to February 9, 2010, he served as the Head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration. During the presidential election campaign in Ukraine in 2004, he was deputy head of the Kharkiv regional headquarters of presidential candidate Viktor A. Yushchenko and First Deputy Head of Kharkiv Regional Committee of National Salvation. He was first elected to the executive committee of Kharkiv City Council in 2002. In 1990, he founded one of the first stock companies of Ukraine, JSC "Investor", and became its president. Mr. Avakov graduated in 1988 from Kharkov Polytechnic Institute in automated systems management and system engineering. First rank civil servant and an honored Economist of Ukraine, Mr. Avakov is Armenian and has Ukrainian citizenship. He is married and has a son. He was born on January 2nd, 1964.