On Thursday, 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada confirmed Serhiy Koretskyi as the new Prime Minister. At the same time, virtually the entire cabinet has been reshuffled. Oleksandr Kravchenko — a man with many years’ experience in business consultancy — has been appointed Minister of Economy and Environment.
EcoPolitic reports on what is known about the new head of the economic and environmental ministry.
Firstly, a few words on the change to the structure of the ministry itself. The merged Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture had been in operation for just one year. As part of the government reshuffle, it has been split up again. However, the environment has still been left ‘subordinate’ to the economy. What this means for European integration and Ukraine’s natural environment is covered in a separate article.
The new minister
Oleksandr Kravchenko was born in 1983 in Boryspil.
He studied at Kyiv National Economic University from 2000 to 2005, graduating with a Master’s degree in International Management. He also holds an MBA from the London Business School, which he obtained in 2012.
From 2008, he worked at McKinsey & Company — an international firm based in the US that specialises in strategic business consultancy. He rose through the ranks from senior analyst (according to some sources, in Russia) to managing partner of the firm’s Kyiv office. He was the sector leader for energy and raw materials in Central and Eastern Europe.
Kravchenko also sits on the board of directors of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).
Given his media activity and analytical work, Oleksandr Kravchenko is deeply immersed in the issues of Ukraine’s post-war recovery and the financial aspects of this, particularly the search for investment and economic stability.
The new minister has not publicly expressed any interest in environmental issues.
Position of the Prime Minister
The new Prime Minister, Serhiy Koretskyi, has also not demonstrated particular attention to environmental issues. When directly asked by member of parliament and member of the parliamentary committee on environmental policy Yulia Ovchynnikova about restoring a separate Ministry for Environment Protection, he cited a lack of time and no specific candidates.
“The only reason why it has not been possible to propose the option of a split at the moment is that a little more time is needed to formulate clear objectives, tasks, and the person who can lead it. This takes time,” Koretskyi replied.
