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Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo by Vadim Chuprina.

Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Yulia Tymoshenko

Yulia Tymoshenko originally called Yulia Volodymyrivna was born on 27^th November 1960 in Dnipropetrovsk now in Ukraine but formerly in Soviet Union.

She served as the prime minister of Ukraine as from February to September in 2005 and again as from December 2007 to 2010 thereby becoming the first and the only woman to serve in that position in Ukraine so far.

Before becoming the prime minister, she served as the People鈥檚 Deputy of Ukraine for 12 years and Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for fuel and energy for three years.

The top 10 remarquable facts about Yulia Tymoshenko include the following.

1. Yulia Was the First Woman Prime Minister of Ukraine

Verkhovna Rada. Photo by Vadim Chuprina.

Yulia served as a People 鈥榮 Deputy of Ukraine for a total of 12 years early in her political career.  A People鈥檚 Deputy of Ukraine is a member of parliament elected to the Parliament of Ukraine otherwise called the Verkhovna Rada by a popular vote.

Between 1999 to 2001, Yulia served as the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for the fuel and energy; a period of 3 years.

She later served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine as from February to September 2005 and as from December 2007 to March 2010; a total of 3 years and 9 months.

Yulia is the first and only woman to serve in the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine so far

2. Yulia Is an Astute Businesswoman

Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo by Premier.gov.ru.

Yulia became president of United Energy Systems of Ukraine; a company that imported gas from Russia and either reexported or sold internally in 1995.

 The company exported metals, pipes and other goods to Russia in return.She earned the epithet of 鈥渢he gas princess鈥� due to her success in the business.

She amassed a fortune in the process and ended up being linked to other known entrepreneurs in Ukraine such as Pavlo Lazarenko among others.

3. Yulia Was Placed Third as The World鈥檚 Most Powerful Woman by Forbes Magazine

Yulia is the leader of the Batkivshchyna political party which is otherwise referred to as the All-Ukrainian Union “Fatherland”.

Since 1999 the party has had representations in the Ukrainian parliament i.e. the Verkhovna Rada.

She has served as People鈥檚 Deputy of Ukraine for 12 years, as a Vice prime Minister for three years and as the Prime Minister of Ukraine for 3 years and 9 months.

She was also the co-leader of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine which engineered political changes within the country.

Due to her political and business career in 2005 Yulia was placed third in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful women.

4. Yulia Was Jailed for Three Years Due to Politically Motivated Allegations

Yulia was charged in court for abuse of power and embezzlement concerning a contract signed in 2009 with Russian gas company Gazprom,

The contract was aimed at supplying Ukraine with gas from Russia. The court found the deal anti-economic and abusive to Ukraine. Other politically motivated charges were brought against her.

Yulia was convicted for abuse of office among others and sentenced to prison for seven years, was ordered to pay $188 million and was banned from public office for the duration of the term.

Yulia maintained her trial was politically motivated which was supported by many within and outside of Ukraine.

However, due to continued pressure from western countries and the United States, Yulia was released from prison on 28^th February, 2014 after serving her jail sentence for three years.

5. Yulia Is an Accomplished Public Speaker

Viktor Yanukovych. Photo by Pavol Fre拧o.

Yulia was a key figure during the events of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.  She denounced Viktor Yanukovych鈥檚 presidential election campaign and the alleged electoral fraud that saw him declared winner of the elections.

Viktor Yanukovych鈥檚 victory was overturned which resulted in her being named as the prime minister in January 2005 and Viktor Yushchenko as the president.

Yulia鈥檚 fiery speeches enthralled vast crowds during the 鈥淥range Revolution鈥�, rallies and was admired by many as an accomplished public speaker.

6. Yulia Was Sacked Just Nine Months After Being Named Prime Minister

Viktor Yushchenko. Photo by Erfah Kouchari.

Yulia was a key figure during the events of the Orange Revolution. She gave fiery speeches which thrilled the crowds in her rallies.

When Viktor Yanukovych鈥檚 presidential election victory was overturned due to alleged electoral fraud, Yulia was named prime minister in 2005 by the incoming president Viktor Yushchenko.

However, fractious disputes with the head of the Security and Defense Council and her controversial attempts to reprivatize companies that had been sold at less than the market value resulted in her removal from office.

Her cabinet was also dismissed due to the fractious disputes and subsequent fall from power.

7. Yulia Was Not Afraid to Confront Power and Push for Her Ideals

In December 2007, Yulia regained her position of prime minister which she had lost in September, 2005 after her cabinet was dismissed by President Viktor Yushchenko.

Yulia was not afraid to confront power and push for her ideal political formation as she grew to be the most recognizable figure in Ukraine.

She went on to campaign for constitutional reforms to make Ukraine a parliamentary republic from the system that was prevailing then.

Yulia鈥檚 direct contest for power with President Yushchenko over authority between the presidency and parliament presaged a serious constitutional crisis in 2008.

8. Despite Her Prominence, She Failed to Capture the Presidency in Three Attempts

Yulia made her first attempt to become the elected president of Ukraine in the January 2010 elections.

She failed to clinch the title in a runoff after coming second with 45.47 percent of the vote while Yanukovych who was declared the winner garnered 48.95 percent of the votes cast.

In the presidential elections held in May 2014, Yulia again came a distant second to the poll favorite Petro Poroshenko.

Lastly, she finished third in May 2019 elections during which the current president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy was declared the winner.

9. Yulia Has Written More Than 50 Research Works

She graduated with a first-degree honor as an engineering -economist from Dnipropetrovsk State University and a Ph.D. in economics from the Kyiv National Economic University.

Since her graduation she worked as a practicing economist and academician with over 50 research works being credited to her name.

10. Yulia Was by Some Estimates One of The Richest People in Ukraine

Yulia became a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry prior to her political career.

She became by some estimates one of the richest people in Ukraine during that time.