Valeriy Heletey

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Valeriy Heletey
Valeriy Heletey.jpg
13th Minister of Defence of Ukraine
In office
3 July 2014 – 14 October 2014
President Petro Poroshenko
Preceded by Mykhailo Koval
Succeeded by Stepan Poltorak
Chief of State Security Administration
In office
15 October 2014 – present
President Petro Poroshenko
Preceded by Serhiy Kulyk
In office
2 March 2014 – 3 July 2014
President Oleksandr Turchynov (acting)
Petro Poroshenko
Preceded by Serhiy Kulyk
Succeeded by Serhiy Kulyk
In office
24 May 2007 – 14 July 2009
President Viktor Yushchenko
Preceded by Petro Plyuta
Succeeded by Oleksandr Birsan
Personal details
Born Valeriy Viktorovych Heletey
(1967-08-28) August 28, 1967 (age 57)
Verkhniy Koropets, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Alma mater National Academy of Internal Affairs (1994)

Valeriy Heletey (Ukrainian: Валерій Вікторович Гелетей) (born on August 28, 1967) is a Ukrainian Colonel General who served as Minister of Defense from July 3 to October 14, 2014.[1][2]

Biography

Born in Mukacheve Raion in the Zakarpattia Oblast, Heletey worked briefly as an electrical mechanic at a local truck company before being drafted into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1985; he served in the Soviet Border Troops. In March 1988 Heletey started a career in the police (MVS) and in 1994 graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Internal Affairs (higher police academy) in Kiev. After that he worked until 2006 for the police department, specializing in the fight against organized crime (HUBOZ) for the city of Kiev.

In October 2006 Heletey as a Colonel was employed by the Presidential Administration, heading its service on issues of law-enforcement agencies. On December 4, 2006 he was promoted to the special rank of Major General of police.[3]

On May 24, 2007 Heletey became a chief of the State Security Administration (UDO) that specializes in security of government officials. On June 20, 2007 Heletey was granted a military rank of Major General[4] and on August 21 of the same year he was promoted to Lieutenant General.[5] On August 20, 2008 Heletey received another promotion: to the rank of Colonel General.[6] In July 2009 he was relieved from his position as UDO chief.

On March 2, 2014 the acting president Of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov appointed Heletey as the UDO chief once again, replacing Serhiy Kulyk. On July 2, 2014 the newly elected President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko proposed Heletey's candidacy for the post of the Minister of Defense,[7] and next day (July 3) the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) approved the proposal with the support of 260 of the 450 parliamentarians.[1][8]

During his maiden speech Heletey hinted that Ukraine would regain control of Crimea, lost during the 2014 Crimean Crisis: "I am convinced that Ukraine will win, and trust me, a victory parade will certainly be held in a Ukrainian Sevastopol."[1][9] At the end of August/beginning of September 2014 he wrote on his Facebook page that the rebels had been defeated and Russia had been forced to begin a full-scale invasion of the region with regular forces, saying: "A great war has arrived at our doorstep - the likes of which Europe has not seen since World War Two. Unfortunately, the losses in such a war will be measured not in the hundreds but thousands and tens of thousands." On 1 September 2014 Newsweek reported that Heletei claimed on his Facebook page that Russia threatened Ukraine with nuclear attack if it won't stop fighting rebels.[10]

On 12 October 2014 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accepted Heletey's resignation, saying that it was time for a change in the country's defense leadership.[11] After he was replaced by National Guard of Ukraine commander Stepan Poltorak, Heletey was appointed head of the State Guard of Ukraine.[12]

On 20 October 2014, the Temporary Investigative Commission of Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliamentary inquiry into the Battle of Ilovaisk) published a report on events related to the "Ilovaisk's cauldron" where it acknowledged that the tragedy at Ilovaisk took place due to inadequate actions of the Defence Minister Heletey and the Chief of General Staff Muzhenko.[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Heletei appointed Ukrainian defense minister, Interfax-Ukraine (3 July 2014)
  2. ↑ About resignation of Heletey from the post of Minister of Defense. Parliamentary resolution of Ukraine. 14 October 2014
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko conducted a meeting with leaders of parliamentary deputy factions and groups. President of Ukraine website. July 2, 2014
  8. ↑ Heletey became the Minister of Defense. Ukrayinska Pravda. July 3, 2014
  9. ↑ Ukraine's new defence minister promises Crimea victory, BBC News (3 July 2014)
  10. ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/russia-has-threatened-nuclear-attack-says-ukraine-defence-minister-267842
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ The intermediate report of the Temporary Investigative Commission in investigation of tragic events near Ilovaisk. Full text. Ukrayinska Pravda. 20 October 2014.

External links

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