Victor Yushchenko has proposed that Volodymyr Ohryzko should become Ukraine’s new foreign minister and has formally submitted his candidacy to parliament, according to the President`s press-office.
A former deputy foreign minister, Ohryzko has been acting foreign minister since the January 31 resignation of Boris Tarasyuk, a key presidential ally who actively promoted pro-Western policy goals during his time in office.
V.Ohryzko was born in 1956. Since March of 2005 he had occupied the post of the top deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. He is the chairman of the National Commission of for UNESCO Affairs, the Ukraine’s Representative at the UNESCO Executive Council.
His diplomatic rank is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. He speaks English and German.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Finance Ministry refused to allocate funds for the diplomatic work of Borys Tarasyuk, including his foreign visits, and refused to take into consideration financial documents, signed by B.Tarasyuk on the post of the Foreign Minister, Top Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov announced. At the same time, he added that funds were already allocated to pay salaries to Foreign Ministry employees.
On Jan 19 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk accused the government of cutting off funds to his ministry, leaving Ukraine unable to pay its diplomats or its dues to international organizations.
Parliament in December dismissed Tarasyuk, a presidential appointee, and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych asked that he be blocked from acting as foreign minister.
Tarasyuk said his dismissal was illegal and President Viktor Yushchenko kept him in his post.
