section_path: Historical background
section_name: Historical background
paragraph_text: Historical background
  
  Belarus first declared independence in early 1918 as the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Its head of state was the president of a provisional supreme governing body, the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. In 1919, the Soviet Red Army forced the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic into exile where the Rada still exists, now led by President Ivonka Survilla. Under Soviet rule, the de facto leader of the Byelorussian SSR was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, the only legal party in Soviet Belarus.
  
  The Republic of Belarus was formed in 1991 shortly after declaring itself independent of the Soviet Union. From independence until passage of the Constitution in 1994, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet was the head of state and the prime minister as the head of government. When the office of the presidency was created, the role of the prime minister was reduced to assisting the president and resulted in the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet, along with its chairman, in 1996.
  
  In the first set of elections for the office of president, the prime minister of Belarus, Vyacheslav Kebich, was defeated in a runoff vote by Alexander Lukashenko, resulting in Lukashenko becoming the first president. In elections of 2001 and 2006, which were contested by international observers, Western powers and internal opposition parties due for failing to meet democratic and fair standards, the incumbent Lukashenko defeated the other candidates within the first ballot. As of 29 January 2025, he is the only person to have served as President of Belarus.