Andriy Yermak
{{short description|Ukrainian film producer and politician (born 1971)}}
{{family name hatnote|Borysovych|Yermak|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Andriy Yermak
| native_name = {{nobold|Андрій Єрмак}}
| native_name_lang = uk
| image = Andriy Yermak of Ukraine in Washington, D.C. on 6 December 2023 - (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 230px
| caption =
| office2 = Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine
| term_start2 = 11 February 2020
| term_end2 =
| president2 = Volodymyr Zelenskyy
| predecessor2 = Andriy Bohdan
| successor =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1971|11|21}}
| birth_place = Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Kyiv, Ukraine)
| education = Taras Shevchenko National University
| spouse =
| occupation = Politician
| party = Independent
| otherparty =
| website =
}}
Andriy Borysovych Yermak ({{langx|uk|Андрій Борисович Єрмак}}; born 21 November 1971)[https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/yermak-replaces-bohdan-as-head-of-presidents-office-48449.html Yermak replaces Bohdan as head of President's Office], 112 Ukraine (11 February 2020) is a Ukrainian politician and former film producer who was appointed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to serve as the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine since 11 February 2020.[https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/640533.html Zelensky dismisses head of president's office Bohdan, appoints Yermak instead], Interfax-Ukraine (11 February 2020)
Yermak is also a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the highest command and control body for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He has been described as Zelenskyy’s right-hand man and a "real power broker" in Ukraine.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraines-real-power-broker-yermak-zelensky-russia-war-biden-2023-12 Ukraine's real power broker. Is Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's right-hand man, handing war-torn Ukraine over to the oligarchs?] by Paul Starobin, Business Insider, 18 December 2023 In 2023, Politico called him Kyiv's "Green Cardinal."{{Cite web |date=2023-11-28 |title=Andriy Yermak |url=https://www.politico.eu/list/politico-28-class-of-2024/andrii-yermak/ |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}} In 2024, Time named Yermak to their annual list of 100 most influential people in the world.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-17 |title=Andriy Yermak: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 |url=https://time.com/6965180/andriy-yermak/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=TIME |language=en}}
Biography
Andriy Yermak was born on 21 November 1971 in Kyiv, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). Yermak's Russian-born mother Maria met his Kyiv native father Borys on a school trip of a Leningrad school to Kyiv. Yermak's father is Jewish.{{cite web |last1=Berman |first1=Lazar |title=Top Zelensky adviser opens up about his Jewish roots, urges greater Israeli support |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-zelensky-advisor-opens-up-about-his-jewish-roots-urges-greater-israeli-support/ |website=Times of Israel |access-date=25 March 2022}} They met through mutual acquaintances. The couple married in 1971 and she moved to Kyiv.{{cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2020/02/12/7240284/|title=Who is Mr. Yermak? Lawyer. Businessman. Producer. Vice-president?|publisher=Ukrayinska Pravda|access-date=13 February 2020}} Yermak has a brother Denys, who is 8 years younger.
In 1990, he started and in 1995 graduated from Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko National University's Institute of International Relations with a master's degree in international private law. The same year he received his license for law practice. In his second year of university, at the request of one of his teachers, he started working for the law company Proxen. He is also a member the Association of Lawyers of Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-11 |title=Зеленський провів перші призначення: хто і яку посаду зайняв |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111025032/https://golos.te.ua/zelens-kyy-proviv-pershi-pryznachennia-khto-i-iaku-posadu-zayniav/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=web.archive.org}}
In 1997, Yermak founded the International Law Firm and was engaged in the field of intellectual property and commercial law. Between 2006 and 2014 he, in his profession as lawyer, aided Party of Regions MP Elbrus Tedeyev.{{cite web|url=https://m.glavcom.ua/publications/who-is-mr-yermak-10-citat-novogo-ochilnika-ofisu-prezidenta-658860.html|title=Who is Mr Yermak? 10 quotes from the new head of the President's Office|date=11 February 2020 |publisher=Glavcom|access-date=11 February 2020}} In 2009, he founded and headed the public organization "Association of Entrepreneurs of the City of Kyiv".
In the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, he was a proxy of candidate Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kyiv's 216th constituency. In 2011 he became the head of the “Association of Small Business Owners”.{{Cite web |title=Підприємці оскаржать заборону на продаж сигарет і алкоголю в кіосках |url=https://kiev.pravda.com.ua/ukr/news/4d886057ee608/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Українська правда - Київ}}
He founded the Garnet International Media Group in 2012{{IMDb name|8498209}} and is the producer of such films as {{ill|Rule of Battle|qid=Q25384330|vertical-align=sup}} and The Line.[https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2705271-ise-odnim-pomicnikom-prezidenta-stav-kinoproduser-ermak.html Another assistant to the President was film producer Ermak], Ukrinform (21 May 2019) He is a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy, and a member of the European Film Academy (2017).
Yermak became acquainted with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2011, when Zelenskyy was the general producer of the TV channel Inter. The two became friends. He worked in Zelenskyy's election campaign team in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.
On 21 May 2019, newly elected President Zelenskyy appointed Yermak as Presidential Aide for Foreign Policy Issues. In this role he negotiated major prison exchanges with Russia during the war in Donbas.{{cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2020/02/11/7240133/ |title=Bohdan turbo mode. As he broke into the team of Zelensky and left the OPU head|work=Ukrainska Pravda|access-date=11 February 2020}}
He was the point of contact for Kurt Volker and Rudy Giuliani on behalf of Zelenskyy during the buildup of the Trump–Ukraine scandal.{{cite web|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/andriy-yermak-replaces-andriy-bohdan-as-head-of-presidential-office.html|title=Andriy Yermak replaces Andriy Bohdan as head of presidential office|work=Kyiv Post|access-date=11 February 2020}} Yermak promised that, in response to their request, Zelensky would publicly pledge to investigate Burisma, a company that employed Hunter Biden. However, Zelenskyy never made such a public statement.
President Zelenskyy appointed Yermak as Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine on 11 February 2020. He became a member of the National Security and Defense Council the following day.{{cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/522020-32337|title=Decree of the President of Ukraine № 52/2020|publisher=Office of the President of Ukraine|access-date=15 February 2020|language=uk}} As the Head of the President's Office, his duties are to provide administrative, legal, consultative, advisory, media, analytical and other assistance and support to the President.{{fact|date=February 2025}} Yermak was appointed chairman of the Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian and Social Affairs on 2 March 2022.{{Cite web |date=3 Mar 2022 |title=Zelensky creates Coordinating Office for Humanitarian and Social Issues |url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806003.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323111704/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/806003.html |archive-date=23 Mar 2022 |access-date=25 Jan 2023 |website=Interfax Ukraine}}
In 2023, Politico called him Kyiv's "Green Cardinal." In 2024, Time named Yermak to their annual list of 100 most influential people in the world.
Personal life
Yermak has lived in Kyiv his whole life. He is single and has no children.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|8498209}}
- {{Facebook|100001316744918}}
- {{Telegram|ermaka2022}}
- {{youTube|10tsE8AxlvM|Ukraine's President Appoints Chief Of Staff Linked To Trump's Lawyer}} – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 12 February 2020
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{{s-bef|before=Andriy Bohdan}}
{{s-ttl|title=Head of the Presidential Office|years=2020–}}
{{s-aft|after=Incumbent}}
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{{Office of the President of Ukraine}}
{{Russian invasion of Ukraine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yermak, Andrii}}
Category:Politicians from Kyiv
Category:Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of International Relations alumni
Category:Independent politicians in Ukraine
Category:Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine
Category:Jewish Ukrainian politicians
Category:Ukrainian film producers
Category:21st-century Ukrainian lawyers
Category:21st-century Ukrainian politicians