Gerashchenko Iryna

Iryna GERASHCHENKO is the Member of Parliament of Ukraine who has been serving as the First Vice-Speaker since April 2016. Prior, she was the Chairperson of the Committee on European Integration of the Verkhovna Rada, where she worked on the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with the European norms and standards. She is currently the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Ukraine for the peaceful settlement in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Since 2014, Mrs. Gerashchenko has been working to promote a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the East of Ukraine and create conditions for the implementation of the plan of the Ukrainian President for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. In May 2015, the President of Ukraine nominated Mrs. Gerashchenko as the Representative of Ukraine in the Humanitarian Subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the situation in Eastern Ukraine, negotiate the release of hostages, and coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Donbas region. Mrs. Gerashchenko has visited Donbas more than 80 times. Mrs. Gerashchenko was elected to the Parliament of Ukraine for the first time in 2007 and was reelected twice in 2012 and 2014. Before joining the public sector, Mrs. Gerashechenko had worked as a journalist for ten years. She holds a degree in journalism with a specialization in legislation from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a master's degree in foreign policy from Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine.