54 Facts About Ihor Shevchenko

Ihor Anatoliiovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian lawyer and public figure.

Ihor Shevchenko was Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources from December 2014 until July 2015.

In September 1992, Ihor Shevchenko transferred to the law faculty of Taras Ihor Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

In 1996 Ihor Shevchenko graduated with a degree in International Law and English.

In 1996, Ihor Shevchenko organized and led the first ever visit by a delegation of Ukrainian law students to the congress of the International Law Students Association in Washington DC and the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

In 1995 Ihor Shevchenko studied European Union Law and Human Rights in the European University Institute.

In 1996 Ihor Shevchenko won a Muskie Scholarship of University of Minnesota Law School to study in America where he earned a Master's degree.

In 2003 Ihor Shevchenko was recognized by the US State Department as the most outstanding Ukrainian graduate of the Muskie program.

In 2006, Ihor Shevchenko won an international competition and became the first Ukrainian to receive a scholarship from the Yale World Fellows program to study at Yale University.

In 2007, Shevchenko was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos from the members of the Forum of Young Global Leaders to participate in the "Global Leadership and Public Policy in the 21st Century" program in Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government.

In 1994, Ihor Shevchenko undertook an internship in the Ukrainian Embassy in Brussels at the invitation of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ihor Shevchenko began his career as a lawyer in 1991 at the Legis law firm, which was founded by Alexander Chaliy.

In 1992, Ihor Shevchenko established his own law firm Principle, which he sold in 1993 and continued his law practice in a successful firm Frishberg and Partners under the leadership of the firm's founder Alex Frishberg.

In October 1995 Ihor Shevchenko founded Ihor Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners law firm together with his classmate Oleksiy Didkovskiy.

In 1996 Ihor Shevchenko successfully passed the qualification exam and received the right to be an attorney-in-law in Ukraine.

Ihor Shevchenko was offered to stay in the USA and become a constant member of the Coudert Brothers company, but Shevchenko wanted to develop his own law firm in Ukraine and implement his international experience there.

In 1998 Ihor Shevchenko returned to Ukraine and continued to lead his law firm.

In 2007 Ihor Shevchenko sold his share in the firm in order to focus on public and charitable activities.

Ihor Shevchenko is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Ukrainian-American Bar Association and Ukrainian-British Bar Association.

In 2002 Ihor Shevchenko established the Ukrainian Bar Association and became its first leader.

Ihor Shevchenko was elected as a president of the Association in 2002 and 2007 and since 2008 has been its Honorary President.

In 1999 Ihor Shevchenko co-founded the European Business Association, which unites the leading European, international and Ukrainian businesses operating in Ukraine.

In May 2006, Ihor Shevchenko founded the Ukrainian Advocates Association and became a member of its Supervisory Board.

In 2006 Ihor Shevchenko established the Ukrainian Forum of Young Global Leaders, which undertakes projects in the area of education and professional development, youth and social entrepreneurship, healthcare and promotion of healthy lifestyles, ecology and environmental security and national cultural projects.

Together with Hanna Hopko, Ihor Shevchenko took active part in the anti-tobacco project of Michael Bloomberg "Tobacco Free Kids" which organized press conferences and a rallies against smoking, which included the participation of Ukrainian celebrities and an awareness campaign on Ukrainian top TV channels.

Ihor Shevchenko took part in the creation of the civic project "New Citizen" together with Oleh Ribachuk and Svitlana Zalishchuk.

Ihor Shevchenko was the first Ukrainian to become a member of this prestigious global community.

In 2006 and 2008 Ihor Shevchenko was an official participant of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In 2012 Ihor Shevchenko founded the first branch of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers initiative in Ukraine.

In December 2014, Ihor Shevchenko entered the coalition government led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

Immediately after his appointment, Ihor Shevchenko fired all deputy ministers and heads of departments of the Ministry who were involved in corruption.

Ihor Shevchenko then terminated all corrupt schemes and returned more than 20 oil and gas fields stolen by accomplices of the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to the state ownership.

Ihor Shevchenko established the first public tenders for the posts of directors of reservations and national parks were held with online broadcasting of candidates' interviews.

The key moment in the confrontation between Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and Minister Ihor Shevchenko was Ihor Shevchenko's position regarding the members of the committee for the selection of members for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Ihor Shevchenko insisted on new selections and the cancellation of the decision made by the Cabinet, which was adopted as a result of manipulation, and the inclusion into the committee of representatives of independent civil society organizations, rather than insiders ready to vote as they would be told by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Ihor Shevchenko denied these accusations, saying that firefighting is not included in the mandate of the Minister of Ecology and is the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which includes the State Agency for Emergency Situations.

Ihor Shevchenko brought irrefutable evidence that he was in Ukraine at the start of the fire until its complete elimination, and that he visited the scene of the fire and met the head of the State Environmental Service and the head of the operational headquarters for fire suppression.

In turn, Ihor Shevchenko provided documentary evidence that he personally paid for his flight and that the plane belonged to a Dutch aviation company and not Onishchenko.

In turn, Ihor Shevchenko accused Prime Minister Yatsenyuk of "political reprisals", "defending the interests of oligarchic clans" and corruption.

In political circles it was widely rumored that Ihor Shevchenko was brought into the government on the recommendation of the All-Ukrainian Political Union "Bat'kivschyna" party and its leader Yulia Tymoshenko personally.

In March 2016, Solomenskiy district court of Kyiv declared the charges against the ex-Minister of Ecology Ihor Shevchenko to be unfounded and dismissed the case initiated by the Security Service of Ukraine.

Ihor Shevchenko initiated 10 lawsuits against a variety of parties for false accusations, including against former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, MPs Serhiy Pashinsky, Tatiana Chornovil, Irina Suslova, Yuri Chizhmar, Andrei Pomazanov, Leonid Emets and the leader of the Radical Party, Oleh Lyashko, who claimed that the post of Minister for Ihor Shevchenko was bought for $5 million by Oleksandr Onishchenko.

Information about the fact that during the large-scale fire near Kyiv Ihor Shevchenko was in Nice was not confirmed.

The State Border Service confirmed that Ihor Shevchenko was in Ukraine during the fire.

Ihor Shevchenko informed the public about it on his Facebook page, posting the relevant documents.

Until 2011, Ihor Shevchenko was not a member of any political party.

In 2013, Ihor Shevchenko left the post of head of the party, but remained a member of its governing council.

In May 2016, Ihor Shevchenko announced the end of his membership in the Meritocratic Party of Ukraine.

In local elections in October 2015, Ihor Shevchenko was a candidate for the post of mayor of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi as an independent candidate.

Ihor Shevchenko is currently not a member of any political party.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Ihor Shevchenko has taken active part in the revival of the Rotary movement in Ukraine, participating in the establishment and activities of Rotary Club-Kyiv.

Ihor Shevchenko significantly accelerated the completion of the construction and launch of the first Ukrainian SOS-Children's Village in Brovary near Kyiv.

From 1982 to 1991 Ihor Shevchenko actively participated in athletics and competed in track-and-field.

Ihor Shevchenko was a candidate for national master of sport in the 400-meter phurdles, for which he was a member of the junior team of the Ukrainian SSR and a candidate for the junior team of the USSR.