Denys Shmyhal – Minister of Defense of Ukraine (July 2025 – current time), Head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration (2019 – 2020), Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine (2020), Prime Minister of Ukraine (2020 – 2025).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on October 15, 1975 in Lviv.
In 1997, Shmyhal completed his studies at Lviv Polytechnic State University, having received a degree in management in the production sector, in particular in the field of mechanical engineering.
In 2003, he successfully defended his dissertation “Regional Economy and Distribution of Productive Forces”.
During his career, he has completed training and internships in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Georgia and Finland. He also participated in a special manager training program organized by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.
Career
From April 1994 to November 1995, he worked as a manager at O’Key LLC. In November, he moved to the position of accountant of the department of non-trade operations of the currency department of the joint-stock commercial bank “Electronbank”, where he worked until August 1997.
From October 1997 to March 1998, he held the position of accountant in the Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) “Lviv Bus Plant”. In March 1998, he began working as a leading accountant in CJSC “Z-Trading House” and remained in this position until September 1999.
In September 1999, he became the chief accountant, and later took the position of Director of Finance at LA DIS LLC.
From November 2003 to August 2005, he worked in senior positions at Lviv Bus Plant: first as the head of the financial department, then as the head of the financial management and economic analysis department, and later became the director of economic and strategic development.
From September 2005 to June 2006, Shmyhal held the position of Deputy General Director at LA DIS LLC. In June 2006, he moved to work at Comfort-Invest Investment Company LLC, where he worked as a director of economics until August 2008.
In September 2008, he headed ROSANINVEST LLC, holding the position of General Director until September 2009.
In September 2009, he became an assistant to the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration (RSA) in the department of ensuring the activities of the administration staff. At the same time, he acted as the head of the main department of economics.
In October 2009, Shmyhal was officially appointed Head of the Main Department of Economics of the Lviv Regional State Administration, and in 2010 the department was renamed to the Main Department of Economy and Investments. He held the position until April 2011.
In August 2011, he headed the board of the public organization “Institute of Regional Development”, where he worked until December of the same year. Since January 2012, he has held the position of Head of the Main Department of Economy and Industrial Policy of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
In January 2013, he became the Director of the Department of Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Industry of the Lviv Regional State Administration. He worked in the position until the end of 2013.
In 2014, until April, Shmyhal worked as an assistant-consultant to the people’s deputy. In May of the same year, he became Deputy Head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Revenues and Duties in the Lviv region, remaining in this position until December 2014.
From January 2015 to January 2017, he held a number of senior positions at TPK Lvivholod LLC: he was an advisor to the president, vice president, general director, and a member of the Supervisory Board.
From January 2017 to January 2018, he worked as Deputy General Director for Social Affairs at DTEK Zakhidenergo. After that , he became the director of DTEK Burshtyn TPP, at the same time acting as Deputy General Director for Social Affairs of DTEK Zakhidenergo PJSC.
In August 2019, Shmyhal was appointed head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Military Administration. He held the position until February 2020.
On February 4, 2020, he was elected Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Communities and Territories Development, replacing Olena Babak.
On March 4, 2020, the Rada decided to resign Oleksiy Honcharuk from the post of Prime Minister. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a proposal to the parliament to appoint Shmyhal to the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine, and people’s deputies supported the candidacy.
On July 16, Shmyhal’s government was dismissed, and the next day he took office as Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
Marital Status
He is married to Kateryna Shmyhal. His wife is engaged in entrepreneurial activities (she was a co-owner of the Kamianets Bakery, as well as the NextBike bicycle rental company in Lviv).
Kateryna shared a share in this with Zinoviy Kozytskyi and Ostap Budenkevych. In February 2019, the bakery’s activities stopped. Her share in the NextBike bike rental went to Zinoviy Kozytskyi, the father of the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytskyi.
The couple is raising two daughters: Anna and Sofia.
