Yevhen Marchuk

(Lt. Gen. Ret.) Yevhen Kyrylovych Marchuk (Template:Lang-uk, born 28 January) is a Ukrainian security officer (now retired from service), statesman and politician.

He was appointed acting Prime minister of Ukraine on March 1, 1995 and confirmed on June 8, 1995. Resigned on May 27, 1996, after being elected to the Verkhovna Rada. Having taken the third place in 1999 presidential election, he was appointed secretary of the National Security and Defense Council by the re-elected President Leonid Kuchma.

Early career

During his study in Kirovohrad teachers' institute, Marchuk has been recruited by the KGB and went up on its service, first in Kirovohrad Oblast, then in the republican KGB branch in Kiev. Marchuk has admitted specializing in secret police functions. However, he claims himself as having been a humane lawful agent, secretly protecting some Ukrainian dissidents from harsh presecution.

At of the 1990, Marchuk has been one of the few high-level KGB officers appeared to be loyal to newly-established Ukrainian independence. Thus he was appointed the Ukrainian SSR Minister of National Security and Defence. That position posed no actual power since local KGB, militsiya and army were still subordinated to Moscow.

Recent career developments

On December 6, 2001, the Italian prosecutor's office accused Marchuk of violating the UN embargo on supplying arms to various parts of the world. The accusations remained never investigated nor prosecuted.

Marchuk now heads the Ukrainian "Party of Freedom", participating in the 2006 parliamentary election. He is affiliated with the Ukrainian Den' newspaper, edited by his wife.