Ihor Petrovych Palytsia (Ukrainian: Ігор Петрович Палиця; born 10 December 1972) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician. From May 2014 until May 2015[4] he worked as Governor of Odesa Oblast.[5][1] In November 2015 Palytsia was elected chairman of the Volyn Oblast regional parliament.[6][7] In the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia won a seat as an independent candidate.[8] In parliament he joined the For the Future faction.[8]
Ihor Palytsia | |
|---|---|
Ігор Палиця | |
 Palytsia in 2014 | |
| Member of the Verkhovna Rada | |
| Assumed office 29 August 2019 | |
| Chairman of the Volyn Oblast Council | |
| In office 26 November 2015 – 26 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Valentyn Viter |
| Succeeded by | Iryna Vakhovych |
| Governor of Odesa Oblast | |
| In office 6 May 2014[1] – 30 May 2015[2] | |
| Preceded by | Volodymyr Nemyrovsky[1] |
| Succeeded by | Mikheil Saakashvili |
| Member of the Verkhovna Rada | |
| In office 23 November 2007 – 6 May 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 10, 1972[3] Lutsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union[3] |
| Political party | UKROP (2015-2020) For the Future (since 2020) |
| Children | Mariia Palytsia, Zakhar Palytsia |
Biography
Palytsia was born 10 December 1972 in Lutsk.[3] In 1994, he graduated from the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University in his place of birth.[3] Since 1993 he has been a businessman and he was a board member of (the national oil and gas company of Ukraine) Naftogaz from 2003 till 2007.[3] Palytsia unsuccessfully took part in the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election for the Peasant Party of Ukraine.[9] The party won 0,31% of the votes.[10]
In the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia was elected MP (as #68 on the party list) of Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc.[3] In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election he was elected with 40.27% of the votes in simple-majority constituency #22 (situated in Lutsk) as a non-party affiliate.[11] He did not enter any faction in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament).[12]
Palytsia was appointed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Governor of Odesa Oblast on 6 May 2014, 4 days after the 2 May 2014 Odesa clashes that killed more than 40 people.[13][1][5][14]
In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia was again re-elected into parliament; this time after placing 34th on the electoral list of Petro Poroshenko Bloc.[15][16] He stayed on as Governor till 30 May 2015 when President Poroshenko appointed Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of Odesa Oblast.[2][17]
In July 2015 Palytsia became a member of the political council of the party UKROP.[7] On 26 November 2015 he was elected chairman of the Volyn Oblast regional parliament.[7][6]
In the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia won a seat as an independent candidate.[8] In parliament he joined the For the Future faction.[8] May 2020 Palytsia was elected chairman of the For the Future party.[18] According to Palytsia For the Future is de facto a continuation of UKROP.[18]
Political image
In the spring of 2014, the Ukrainian press mentioned Palytsia as being close to Ukrainian oligarch (and then fellow Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast[19]) Ihor Kolomoyskyi.[13][5][12] In August 2021 Ukrainska Pravda reported that Palytsia and Kolomoyskyi no longer shared business assets.[20]
Awards
- Honored Economist of Ukraine (September 2004).
- Order of Merit, 3rd class (January 2009).[21]
- Recipient of the Yevhen Chykalenko Prize (October 2013)[22]