Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko[c] (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka;[d] born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994.[7] This makes him the longest-serving European president.[8]
"Lukashenko" redirects here. For other people with the name, see Lukashenko (surname).
Alexander Lukashenko
Myechyslaw Hryb
(as head of state and Chairman of the Supreme Council)
Office established
Office established
Office established
Office abolished
Independent (1992–present)
- Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1979–1991)
- Communists for Democracy (1991–1992)
- Belaya Rus (2007–present)[b]
Politician
- 1975–1977
- 1980–1982
- 1994–present
Before embarking on his political career, Lukashenko worked as the director of a state farm (sovkhoz) and served in both the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he assumed the position of head of the interim anti-corruption committee of the Supreme Council of Belarus. In 1994, he won the presidency in the country's inaugural presidential election after the adoption of a new constitution.
Lukashenko opposed economic shock therapy during the 1990s post-Soviet transition, maintaining state ownership of key industries in Belarus. This spared Belarus from recessions as devastating as those in other post-Soviet states and the former Eastern Bloc countries which prevented the rise of oligarchy. Lukashenko's maintenance of socialist economic model is consistent with the retaining of Soviet-era symbolism, including the Russian language, coat of arms and national flag. These symbols were adopted after a controversial 1995 referendum.
Subsequent to the same referendum, Lukashenko acquired increased power, including the authority to dismiss the Supreme Council. Another referendum in 1996 further facilitated his consolidation of power. Lukashenko has since presided over an authoritarian government and has been labeled by the media as "Europe's last dictator".[9] International monitors have not regarded Belarusian elections as free and fair, except for his initial win. The government suppresses opponents and limits media freedom.[10] This has resulted in multiple Western governments imposing sanctions on Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials.[11] Lukashenko's contested victory in the 2020 presidential election preceded allegations of vote-rigging, amplifying anti-government protests, the largest seen during his rule.[8] Consequently, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States do not recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus following the disputed election.[12][13]
Such isolation from parts of the West have increased his dependence on Russia, with whom Lukashenko had already maintained close ties with despite some disagreements related to trade. This has been particularly the case following the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, replacing reformist president Boris Yeltsin. Lukashenko played a crucial role in creating the Union State of Russia and Belarus, enabling Belarusians and Russians to travel, work, and study freely between the two countries. He also reportedly played a crucial role in brokering a deal to end the Russian Wagner Group rebellion in 2023, allowing some Wagner soldiers into Belarus.[14]
Early life, family and education
Lukashenko was born on 30 August 1954[15][16] in the settlement of Kopys in Vitebsk Region of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Starting with an interview given in 2009, Lukashenko has said that his actual birthday is 31 August, the same as his son's Nikolai's.[17] This caused some confusion as all official sources had said 30 August 1954 up until then. An explanation was later given that his mother had entered the hospital on the 30th in labour but not given birth until after midnight.[18]
His maternal grandfather, Trokhym Ivanovich Lukashenko, was born near Shostka in the then Russian Empire, in the village known today as Sobycheve.[19] Lukashenko grew up without a father in his childhood, leading him to be taunted by his schoolmates for having an unmarried mother.[20] Due to this, the origin of his patronymic Grigorevich is unknown and there are varying rumours about the identity of Lukashenko's father. The most common suggestion is that the man was a Roma passing through the region.[21] His mother, Ekaterina Trofimovna Lukashenko (1924–2015), gave birth to another son, older than Alexander, who later died on an unknown date. Ekaterina worked unskilled jobs on a railway, at a construction site, at a flax factory in Orsha and finally as a milkmaid in Alexandria, a small village in the east of Belarus, close to the Russian border.[22]
Lukashenko went to Alexandria secondary school. He graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute (now Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University) in Mogilev in 1975 after 4 years of studies. He also completed studies at the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in Horki in 1985.
Military and early politics career
He served in the Soviet Border Troops from 1975 to 1977, where he was an instructor of the political department of military unit No. 2187 of the Western Frontier District in Brest and in the Soviet Army from 1980 to 1982. In addition, he led an All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) chapter in Mogilev from 1977 to 1978. While in the Soviet Army, Lukashenko was a deputy political officer of the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which was based in Minsk.[23]
In 1979, he joined the ranks of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of Byelorussia. After leaving the military, he became the deputy chairman of a collective farm in 1982 and in 1985, he was promoted to the post of director of the Gorodets state farm and construction materials plant in the Shklow district.[24] In 1987, he was appointed as the director of the Gorodets state farm in Shklow district and in early 1988, was one of the first in Mogilev Region to introduce a leasing contract to a state farm.[25]
In 1990, Lukashenko was elected Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR. Having acquired a reputation as an eloquent opponent of corruption, Lukashenko was elected in April 1993 to be interim chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament.[26] In late 1993 he accused 70 senior government officials, including the Supreme Soviet chairman Stanislav Shushkevich and prime minister Vyacheslav Kebich, of corruption including stealing state funds for personal purposes. While the charges ultimately proved to be without merit, Shushkevich resigned his chairmanship due to the embarrassment of this series of events and losing a vote of no-confidence.[27][28] He was in that position until July 1994.