Dmytro Kuleba
Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba (Ukrainian: Дмитро Іванович Кулеба, IPA: [dmeˈtrɔ iˈʋanɔʋet͡ʃ kuˈlɛbɐ]; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician and diplomat currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2] He is concurrently a member of the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine.[3]
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanovych and the family name is Kuleba.
Dmytro Kuleba
Mykola Tochytsky
19 April 1981
Sumy, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Ukrainian
Yevhenia Kuleba
Two
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (PhD, international law)
- Politician
- diplomat
The youngest foreign affairs minister in Ukraine's history,[4] he previously worked as Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration[5] and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe between 2016 and 2019.
Early life[edit]
Kuleba was born on 19 April 1981 in Sumy, in the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. In 2003, he graduated with honors with a degree in International Law from the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Kuleba subsequently obtained a Candidate of Sciences degree (equivalent to PhD) in Law in 2006.[6][7]
Foreign officer (2003–2019)[edit]
Kuleba has served in Ukraine's diplomatic service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2003. He abandoned public service in 2013, citing his disagreement with Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych's course, and chaired the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy. He took an active part in the Euromaidan protests in 2013–2014.
At the height of the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Kuleba decided to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry's work.
In 2016, Kuleba was appointed Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
Personal life[edit]
In 2019, Kuleba wrote The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities a book on modern communications, media literacy, and countering disinformation.[38] In December 2017, Kuleba was named the best Ukrainian ambassador of the Year 2017 by the Institute of World Policy.[39][40]
Kuleba's mother is Yevhenia Kuleba. His father Ivan Kuleba is a career diplomat, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2003–2004), as well as Ukraine's ambassador to Egypt (1997–2000), Czech Republic (2004–2009), Kazakhstan (2008–2019), and Armenia (2019–2021).
Kuleba has two children. His former[41] wife Yevhenia was number 1 on the party list for the Kyiv City Council of the party Servant of the People in the 2020 Kyiv local election.[42][43] She is a Kyiv City Council Deputy, Secretary of the Kyiv City Council Standing Committee on Environmental Policy.
