Hryhoriy Mykhailovych Surkis is a businessman, People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the III, IV and IX convocations, Vice-President of UEFA (2013 – 2019), President of the Football Federation of Ukraine (2000 – 2012).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on September 4, 1949 in the city of Odesa.
In 1972, he completed his studies at the Kyiv Technological Institute of Food Industry with a degree in “Machines and Apparatus of Food Production”, having received the qualification of a mechanical engineer.
Career
In the period from 1972 to 1974, he worked in the system of the Main Directorate of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (UkrSSR), where he held the position of senior engineer in the technical supply office. Later, he held the position of foreman in the trust “Ukrrembudmaterialy” in the city of Kharkiv.
In 1975, he moved to work at the Kyivzhytlorembudmontazh trust, where during the following years he held a number of positions, including foreman, head of the supply department, chief engineer and head of one of the departments.
In 1988 – 1991 he worked in the housing and repair association at the Kyiv City Executive Committee. During this time, he held the positions of chief engineer, head of department, as well as deputy head of the association.
Later, he took the position of General Director of the Dynamo-Atlantic joint venture, and also headed the recruitment department of the Kyiv City Executive Committee.
In the period from 1993 to 1998, he was the president of the Ukrainian Industrial and Financial Concern “Slavutych” and at the same time headed the closed joint stock company (CJSC) “Football Club “Dynamo”.
In 1996 – 2000, he headed the Professional Football League of Ukraine and served as Vice-President of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU).
In 2000, he was elected president of the Football Federation of Ukraine. He was subsequently re-elected in 2002 and 2007, remaining at the head until 2012.
In the spring of 2013, he was elected vice-president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). In 2017, he was re-elected to this position and held it until 2019.
Since 2019, it has the status of an honorary member of UEFA.
Political Activities
In 1998, he was first elected a people’s deputy of Ukraine, running for the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, the leader of which at that time was Viktor Medvedchuk. In 2002, he again won a deputy mandate, representing the same political force.
In the parliamentary elections of 2006, he ran on the electoral list of the Opposition Bloc “Ne Tak!”, but the political force did not overcome the barrier to the Verkhovna Rada.
In 2019, he was elected a people’s deputy from the political party “Opposition Platform – For Life” (“OPFL”).
In April 2022, he joined the newly created deputy group “Platform for Life and Peace”.
Assets
According to Forbes Ukraine, as of 2021, the combined fortune of Hryhoriy and his younger brother Igor was estimated at $ 260 million.
A number of assets were associated with their names, including the Dynamo football club, as well as the energy companies Lvivoblenergo and Prykarpattyaoblenergo.
In addition, together with their daughters, the brothers are co-owners of A-Bank. Previously, they also owned a stake in PrivatBank.
Marital Status
Married. He has two children: daughter Svitlana and son Vyacheslav.
