The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army and heads the National Security and Defense Council, which advises the President, co-ordinates and controls the activity of bodies of executive power in the sphere of national security and defense. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president is the guarantor of the state's sovereignty, territorial indivisibility, the observance of the Constitution of Ukraine and human and citizens' rights and freedoms.
As with the separation of powers, the President has checks on the authority of parliament and the judicial system. For instance, any law passed by the parliament can be vetoed by the President; however, parliament can override his veto with a 2/3 constitutional majority vote.
The President has limited authority to disband the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), and nominates candidates for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers. Six out of eighteen of the Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the President. Decisions of the President are subject to review by Ukraine's courts with the Constitutional Court having the sole authority and power to declare decrees of the president unconstitutional. While in office, the president enjoys the right of immunity.
The President's official residence is the Mariyinsky Palace, located in the Pechersk district of the capital Kiev. Other official residences include the House with Chimaeras and the House of the Weeping Widow, which are used for official visits by foreign representatives. The Presidential Administration of Ukraine, unofficially known as "Bankova" in reference to the street it is located on, serves as the Presidential administration, advising the President in the domestic, foreign and legal matters.
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the highest governing body was the General Secretariat headed by its chairman. With the proclamation of the last universal of the UPR dated January 25, 1918 due to a military aggression, the Central Rada (council) of the UPR proclaimed its independence from the Russia. On April 29, 1918, the Rada elected Mykhailo Hrushevskyi as the first President of the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic,[6] in effect making him the de facto leader of the republic. Although a rather widespread misconception, the state leadership position title varied and none of them had an official "presidential" title.
On April 29, 1918 the Central Rada was arrested and liquidated during a coup d'état initiated by the local German administration to install Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky who barely spoke a word of the Ukrainian language. In November of the same year the Directorate government of the UPR was established as the opposition movement to the Skoropadsky's regime. The Ukrainian People's Republic was soon re-established in December 1918 with Volodymyr Vynnychenko as the Directorate's chairman, serving as the republic's de facto second "President" from December 19, 1918 to February 10, 1919.[7] Although really the Directorate was the temporary governing body until the new Ukrainian Constituent Assembly would elect its president. Symon Petliura assumed the representation of the state after Vynnychenko's resignation on February 11, 1919 and until Petlyura's assassination in Paris on May 25, 1926.
Ukrainian president is elected by direct popular vote by Ukrainian citizens who are 18 years and over. The President is elected for a 5-year term of office, limited to two terms consecutively.
Ukraine's electoral law provides for a two-round system electoral system to elect the President; a candidate must win an absolute majority of all votes cast. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round of voting then the two highest polling candidates contest a run-off second ballot.
According to Chapter V, Article 103 of the Constitution, a candidate in the presidential election a candidate must be a Ukrainian citizen who has attained the age of 35, has the right to vote, has resided in the country for the past 10 years and has full command of the Ukrainian state language. Per the Constitution, regular presidential elections are scheduled to be held on the last Sunday of the last month of the fifth year of the incumbent President's term. If the President's authority has ended pre-term, then the elections must be held within 90 days of the incumbent President's end of term.
Candidates seeking election are required to pay a nomination deposit of 500,000 hryvnias (approx. 80,000 US Dollars) which is refunded only to those candidates that progress to the second round of voting.
The next Ukrainian presidential election have been set for March 29, 2015.
President Leonid Kravchuk's inauguration in the parliament, August 22, 1992.
According to Article 104 of the Constitution, the President of Ukraine assumes office no later than in thirty days after the official announcement of the election results, from the moment of taking the oath to the people at a ceremonial meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ukrainian parliament. If the President is elected following special elections in the event of the previous president's resignation, impeachment or death, the President-elect must take oath of office within five days after the publication of the official election results.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine administers the oath of office. The President-elect recites the Ukrainian oath of office with his hand on the Constitution and the Peresopnytsia Gospels: The Ukrainian text of the oath according to the article 104 is:
“ Я, (ім'я та прізвище), волею народу обраний Президентом України, заступаючи на цей високий пост, урочисто присягаю на вірність Україні. Зобов'язуюсь усіма своїми справами боронити суверенітет і незалежність України, дбати про благо Вітчизни і добробут Українського народу, обстоювати права і свободи громадян, додержуватися Конституції України і законів України, виконувати свої обов'язки в інтересах усіх співвітчизників, підносити авторитет України у світі. ”
I, (name and surname), elected by the will of the people as the President of Ukraine, assuming this high office, do solemnly swear allegiance to Ukraine. I pledge with all my undertakings to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, to provide for the good of the Motherland and the welfare of the Ukrainian people, to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, to abide by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine, to exercise my duties in the interests of all compatriots, and to enhance the prestige of Ukraine in the world.
President's official state symbols consists of the Presidential Standard of the Ukrainian Flag, the Seal, the Presidential Sign(collar), and the Presidential bulava. The presidential symbols, along with other important Presidential documents and media, are contained in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, the country's main academic library. For the President's use, the library prepares documents and analytical materials.
The president's spouse is recognized as the First Lady, much in the similar fashion as in other countries, although such a title holds no official and legal responsibility and is often undisclosed. However, during the Yushchenko Presidency, his marriage to Kateryna Yushchenko and their private life drew a lot of attention from the media. Apart from Kateryna Yushchenko, little else is known about the other presidential spouses,
The tradition of the Ukrainian "First family" was established by Kuchma, who became the in-law to his daughter's husband and politician Viktor Pinchuk. During the current presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, the "first family" meaning was taken to the next level whose son Viktor became a parliamentarian of Verkhovna Rada with the same political party affiliation.
In order to impeach the President, they must be convicted of treason to the state and other crimes. A two-thirds constitutional majority in the Verkhovna Rada (300 ayes) must support a procedure of impeachment for it to begin. A temporary investigative commission is established by the parliament for the impeachment investigation. The commission's final conclusions are considered at a parliamentary meeting.
To adopt an impeachment resolution, a minimum two-thirds of the parliament must support the impeachment procedure. To remove the President from office, a minimum three-quarters of parliament must support the resolution. The Constitutional and the Supreme Court of Ukraine's conclusions and decisions are considered at the parliamentary meetings. No President has been impeached from office to date.
In the event that a President is incapable of committing his/her duties as President, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (currently Volodymyr Lytvyn) becomes the acting president until a new president is elected. The acting president is not given the authority to address the nation and parliament, dismiss the legislative branch and appoint candidates for parliamentary approval of government and judicial posts. The acting president cannot call for a referendum, grant military ranks and state orders and exercise their right of pardon. There are no constitutional provisions for presidential succession in case both the president and chairman's posts are vacant.
The modern Ukrainian presidency was formed when the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic passed a law on July 5, 1991 establishing the post of the "President of the Ukrainian SSR." Upon the proclamation of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991, the title was changed to the "President of Ukraine." The first election of the President of Ukraine was contested on December 1, 1991. Leonid Kravchuk was the inaugural holder of the office.
All four Presidents have been members of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) prior to their election as President. Kravchuk was the first (and only) President to have resigned from the office, following a power struggle between Kravchuk and his Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. Although the 10 is maximum number of years a person can serve, Leonid Kuchma has served a little over 10 and a half, finishing Kravchuk's only term.
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