Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

image

Volodymyr Zelensky

About Volodymyr Zelensky

Facebook IconLinkedIN Icon

Who is Volodymyr Zelensky ?

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky is the sixth president of Ukraine since May 20, 2019. A former comedian and an actor with limited experience in politics had won a landslide victory in the country's presidential election in April 2019. Zelensky did not hold any positions in elective office before running for the post of president.
 
The world praised Zelensky's bravery and determination to serve his war-torn country during the Russian invasion in February 2022. The global community hailed his valour of not fleeing the country amidst the political mayhem and gained recognition as a wartime leader.
 
Life and education
 
Volodymyr Zelensky was born on January 25, 1978, in Kryvyi Rih, a Russian-speaking industrial region of south-eastern Ukraine to Jewish parents. During his initial days of childhood, he was a native Russian speaker but gradually became fluent in both English and Ukrainian languages. In 1995, he took admission into Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute -- the local campus of Kyiv National Economic University and in 2000, Zelensky graduated with a law degree.
 
Career
 
In 1997, the comic-turned-president founded Kvartal 95 studio -- a television entertainment production company that produced many TV shows for years. Zelensky has worked in a number of films including -- Love in the Big City, Office Romance, Our Time, 8 First Dates, I, You, He, She, Svanty and Paddington. 
 
In 2015, he starred in the television series 'Servant of the People' where he played the role of an anti-corruption politician who eventually becomes the Ukrainian president.  
 
Zelensky, whose grandfather served in the Soviet Army during the Second World War, also worked as a creative director and screenwriter and performed at stand-up comedy shows.
 
In March 2018, Kvartal 95 established the political party 'Servant of the People' that won the first single-party majority in Ukrainian history in parliament in July 2019.
 
In 2019, Zelensky contested the presidential election and defeated Petro Poroshenko in a landslide victory as he won 73.2 per cent of the votes. On May 20, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was sworn in as the sixth President of Ukraine. 
 

Latest Updates on Volodymyr Zelensky

World economic forum (WEF) 2022: The risk of a global recession -- a repeated topic at meetings -- was just one reason for wanting a ceasefire as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its fourth month

Updated On: 01 Aug 2023 | 5:41 PM IST

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order allowing residents of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to apply for Russian citizenship under a fast-track procedure

Updated On: 26 May 2022 | 7:38 AM IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said his country will not give up its land to end Russia's war.

Updated On: 02 Aug 2023 | 10:10 AM IST

Even in regions out of the range of the heavy guns, frequent air raid sirens wail as a constant reminder that a Russian missile can strike at any time even

Updated On: 02 Aug 2023 | 10:40 AM IST

Russia is attempting to seize the separatist-claimed Donbas' two provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk, and trap Ukrainian forces in a pocket on the main eastern front

Updated On: 02 Aug 2023 | 10:50 AM IST

Asserting that Russia's aggression against Ukraine must be countered, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said Ukraine must win this war

Updated On: 25 May 2022 | 1:32 AM IST

A Business Standard analysis found that the US and the UK top the list of discussions at the World Economic Forum 2022 Annual meeting.

Updated On: 24 May 2022 | 11:05 PM IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says last week's attack on the town of Desna resulted in 87 deaths

Updated On: 24 May 2022 | 11:32 AM IST

On WEF 2022 Day 2 schedule, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be speaking at the WEF event "India at 75: Strategic Outlook"

Updated On: 24 May 2022 | 11:09 AM IST

Zelensky called for "maximum" sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo and complete withdrawal of foreign companies.

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 8:35 PM IST

Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin pleaded guilty to shooting a Ukrainian civilian in the head in a village in the northeastern Sumy region in the early days of the war

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 7:02 PM IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called for "maximum sanctions" on Russia, including a ban on all Russian banks, a Russian oil embargo and stopping all trade with Russia.

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 5:00 PM IST

Duda's visit, his second to Kyiv since April, came as Russian and Ukrainian forces battled along a 551-kilometer (342-mile) wedge of the country's eastern industrial heartland

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 12:47 PM IST

Most Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, have crossed to the European Union through border points in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 9:02 AM IST

Soldiers walked through the compound and swung mine detectors over roads littered with debris, while others checked under objects for the explosive devices, video footage showed

Updated On: 23 May 2022 | 8:58 AM IST

Among the defenders were members of Azov Regiment, whose far-right origins have been seized on by the Kremlin as part of its effort to cast the invasion as a battle against Nazi influence in Ukraine

Updated On: 22 May 2022 | 11:35 AM IST

The last Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol's smashed Azovstal steelworks surrendered on Friday, Russia's defense ministry said

Updated On: 21 May 2022 | 10:52 AM IST

The work on clearing the territory of Ukraine from the landmines scattered during the conflict with Russia would take between five and seven years, a senior Ukrainian official said

Updated On: 21 May 2022 | 8:44 AM IST

Amnesty International said in a tweet that the POW status means that the soldiers must not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment

Updated On: 20 May 2022 | 10:35 AM IST

Since turning away from Ukraine's capital, Russia is using massed artillery and armour to try to capture more territory in the Donbas

Updated On: 20 May 2022 | 7:38 AM IST