section_path: History/Modern presidency
section_name: Modern presidency
paragraph_text: Modern presidency
  
  The modern Ukrainian presidency was established on 5 July 1991 by the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which formed the office of "president of the Ukrainian SSR" (Ukrainian: Президент Української РСР). During the transitional period until the presidential elections, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada (then held by Leonid Kravchuk) was empowered with a presidential authority. With the proclamation of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union, the office's official title was changed to "President of Ukraine" on 24 August. In the current Constitution, the Ukrainian presidency is defined in Chapter V, Articles 102–112.
  
  So far, seven presidential elections have been conducted. The first election in 1991 was held at the same time as Ukrainians voted to support the Declaration of Independence in the independence referendum. Leonid Kravchuk was elected Ukraine's first president on 1 December 1991. He was elected by a record number of voters with over 19.5 million who wanted him to remain as the leader of the state. That number has not been beaten yet. His major opponents were the leader of Rukh Vyacheslav Chornovil and the author of the Declaration of Independence. President Kravchuk remained in office until he resigned as part of a political compromise. A snap election was held in 1994, which was won by Ukraine's former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. Kuchma was re-elected for a second term of office in 1999.
  
  The 2004 election was marked by controversy with allegations of electoral fraud in the conduct of the second round runoff ballot between opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko and the government-backed candidate and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. After mass nationwide protests, colloquially known as the " Orange Revolution ", a new election was held on 26 December 2004 in which Yushchenko was declared the winner with 52% of the vote and was subsequently sworn into office on 23 January 2005. Yanukovych again served as Prime Minister.
  
  The 2010 election took place on 17 January, with a run-off on 7 February due to a 13 May Constitutional Court ruling striking down 25 October date that the parliament called in April 2009. As a result of this election Yanukovych was elected the fourth modern president of Ukraine.
  
  After Yanukovych was removed from power in early 2014 as a result of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the chairperson of parliament Oleksandr Turchynov was appointed to the role of acting president by the Verkhovna Rada in accordance with article 112 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Oleksandr Turchynov served as the acting president from 23 February until 7 June 2014 and was the only person in Ukrainian history to serve in the role. The acting president of Ukraine lacks many of the executive powers of a president and is only meant to serve for a short time before a new election can take place. During his tenure Oleksandr Turchynov was addressed as "acting president" by other Ukrainian politicians and the media.
  
  The 2014 election took place on 25 May, with entrepreneur Petro Poroshenko winning over 54 percent of the vote; Yulia Tymoshenko was the runner up with around 13 percent. Poroshenko was sworn in as president on 7 June 2014.
  
  On 18 June 2015 Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine.
  
  The 2019 election took place on 31 March, with a run-off on 21 April. As a result of this election, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian with no prior political experience, became the sixth President of Ukraine, scoring a record 73.22% of the popular vote in the run-off against incumbent Poroshenko. Due to martial law in the country as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, elections in the country have been suspended, and the next election originally scheduled for 2024 has been postponed.
  
  The Government of Ukraine is based on a semi-presidential system. The president of Ukraine is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government with the current prime minister being Denys Shmyhal. Ukraine is somewhat unusual in that while many countries use a similar system typically the role of one leader is relegated to being ceremonial, in Ukraine however both the prime minister and the president have great power and responsibility assigned to their roles. Because the president of Ukraine must approve the appointment of the prime minister, the post of president is generally thought of as the more powerful role.