Andrij Sybiha appointed as Ukraine's new foreign minister
On Thursday, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved Andrij Sybiha as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The current deputy minister will replace Dmytro Kuleba, who has held the position since 2020 during Russia's second attack.
The candidacy of 49-year-old Sybiha, proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, was approved by 258 deputies, as reported by opposition deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko.
A Polish diplomatic source, wishing to remain anonymous, told PAP that Andrij Sybiha is considered a man of his word. According to this source, Sybiha was among the politicians who enabled excellent cooperation immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This cooperation resulted, among other things, in arms deliveries.
Sybiha was born in 1975 in Zboriv, in the Ternopil region in the western part of the country. He graduated from Lviv University and is a lawyer by education. He began his career in the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the late 1990s.
The deputy head of the Ukrainian president
He held the office of deputy head of the President of Ukraine until April 2024, when he became Deputy Minister of foreign affairs. In the president’s office, where he replaced Andriy Yermak, he was responsible for foreign policy and developing strategic partnerships.
The new head of Ukrainian diplomacy is married and has three children.
Sybiha took the ministerial position as part of the largest reshuffle in the Ukrainian government since Russia's full-scale invasion began. Sources close to the Ukrainian president’s office told Politico that Sybiha is a "strong, classical diplomat, very experienced and has been working with international partners since the beginning of the invasion."
