Vitali Klitschko from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the "Kyiv University of Physical Science and Sports" and his PhD in Sports Science was conferred. Klitschko has lived for years in Germany (in addition to residing in Kiev). According to Klitschko "Germany adopted me, I really love Germany, but I'm not German". Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir
Vitali Klitschko that he would take part in the (early) 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. But on 29 March 2014 announced that he had changed his mind and would run for the post of Mayor of Kiev in the 2014 Kiev local election (including Mayoral elections) set for 25 May 2014. In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election Klitschko endorsed the candidacy of Petro Poroshenko. Klitschko won Kiev's mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes. He was sworn in as mayor on 5 June 2014. The same day the Ukrainian parliament had deprived Klitschko of his MP mandate (Ukrainian MPs are not entitled