Serhiy Olegovich Kyslytsya – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (February 2025 – present), Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (2020-2024).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on August 15, 1969 in Kyiv.
He graduated from the Faculty of International Law of the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko State University of Kyiv.
He is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Spanish and French.
Career
In 1992, he began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine as an intern in the Department for European Regional Cooperation. The following year, he received a full-time position as an attaché, and later took the position of third secretary.
In the period from 2001 to 2003, he worked as a political adviser at the diplomatic mission of Ukraine in the United States of America (USA). From 2003 to 2005, he continued to work at the embassy, but as a minister-counselor.
In 2006, he returned to Ukraine, where he took the position of deputy head of the second territorial department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
From 2006 to 2014, he headed the Department of International Organizations.
He was a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the sessions of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly from 62 to 72.
From 2006 to 2011, he was a member of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Gender Equality. In 2011, he became a member of the Bureau of this committee.
From 2012 to 2014, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Europe Commission on Equality between Women and Men.
In 2014-2015, he headed the working group on the development of the draft National Human Rights Strategy. During the same period, he was Deputy Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control.
From March 2014 to 2020, he worked as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In 2015 – 2017, he represented Ukraine in the UN Executive Council on Educational, Scientific and Cultural Issues. At the same time, he headed the Ukrainian delegation to the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), dedicated to assessing the implementation of the obligations of the participating States in the field of human rights.
Also in 2015 – 2017, he was the Chairman of the Council of Europe Commission on Gender Equality.
In 2015, he headed the working group that developed the draft Action Plan for the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy.
In 2017, he headed the delegation of Ukraine to the 39th session of the UN General Conference on Educational, Scientific and Cultural Affairs.
On December 19, 2019, he was appointed Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN. On February 20, 2020, he presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
In 2020 – 2021, he served as Vice-President of the UN Economic and Social Council.
From June 17, 2021 to December 21, 2024, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas concurrently.
On December 21, 2024, by decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy , he was dismissed from the posts of Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, as well as Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.
On February 13, 2025, he was appointed First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Marital Status
He has a son.
