Viktor Lukashenko Explained

Viktor Lukashenko
Native Name Lang:be
Office:President of the Belarus Olympic Committee
President:Alexander Lukashenko
Term Start:26 February 2021
Predecessor:Alexander Lukashenko
Office2:National Security Advisor to the President of Belarus
President2:Alexander Lukashenko
Term Start2:2005
Term End2:26 February 2021
Office3:Member of the Security Council of Belarus
President3:Alexander Lukashenko
Term Start3:January 2007
Birth Date:28 November 1975
Birth Place:Mogilev, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Spouse:Lilya Lukashenko
Children:4
Mother:Galina Lukashenko
Father:Alexander Lukashenko
Relatives:Dmitry Lukashenko (brother)
Nikolai Lukashenko (half-brother)

Viktor Aleksandrovich Lukashenko or Viktar Alyaksandravch Lukashenka (born 28 November 1975) is a Belarusian politician and the eldest son of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. He currently serves as the president of the Belarus Olympic Committee. Previously, he served as a national security advisor to his father.

Early life and education

Viktor Lukashenko was born on 28 November 1975, to Galina Lukashenko, who worked at a kindergarten, and Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus since 1994.

Viktor Lukashenko graduated from the International Relations faculty of the Belarusian State University in 1998 and served his mandatory military duty at the Belarusian Border Guard Service between 1998 and 2001.

Career

He worked at the Foreign Ministry of Belarus and at a military exports company, Agat.

In 2005, Viktor Lukashenko became an Assistant on National Security to his father, President Alexander Lukashenko and in January 2007, he became a member of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus.[1]

Viktor has been linked to Belarusian businessman, who previously worked as Viktor's aide.[2] [3] [4] Zaytsev was the chairman of the council of Bremino Group which created a special economic zone in Orsha in 2018.[5]

In 2021, Viktor Lukashenko was appointed President of the Belarus Olympic Committee, succeeding his father, after both were banned from attending the Olympic games.[6]

Viktor Lukashenko was also relieved of his post as the Aide to the President for National Security on 1 March.[7]

Accusations and sanctions

In 2011, after the wave of repressions that followed the 2010 presidential election in Belarus, Lukashenko became subject to an EU travel ban and asset freeze as part of a sanctions list of 208 individuals responsible for political repressions, electoral fraud and propaganda.[8] The EU sanctions were lifted in 2016.[9]

According to the EU Council's decision,[10] Lukashenko "has played a key role in the repressive measures implemented against the democratic opposition and civil society. As a key member of the State Security Council, he was responsible for the coordination of repressive measures against the democratic opposition and civil society, in particular in the crackdown of the demonstration on 19 December 2010." Besides that, Lukashenko is on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List of the United States Department of the Treasury.[11]

On 6 November 2020, the Council of the European Union included Viktor Lukashenko in the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 765/2006.[12] He was banned from visiting European Union and his assets in EU were frozen.[13] Viktor Lukashenko was also sanctioned by the United Kingdom,[14] and Canada.[15] On 24 November, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania aligned themselves with the November EU sanctions against 15 Belarusian individuals,[16] while Switzerland did the same on 11 December.[17]

Viktor's wife, Lilya Lukashenko, runs an art gallery, Art Chaos Gallery in Dana Mall, a shopping center in the north of Minsk.[18] Dana Mall is owned by a large construction company, Dana Astra which in turn is said to be owned by Bogoljub Karić and Nebojša Karić, members of the Serbian Karić family.[19] [20] Lilya Lukashenko was listed as a deputy director for Dana Astra 2016–2017.[20] Dana Astra's parent company, Dana Holdings, is the main contractor for one of the biggest development projects in Minsk, called "Minsk-Mir".[21] On 21 June 2021, Lilya Lukashenko was sanctioned by the European Union.[22] [23]

In December 2020 the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to exclude until further notice all members of the Belarusian Olympic Committee from all IOC events.[24]

In 2022, Viktor Lukashenko was sanctioned by Australia,[25] New Zealand[26] and Japan.[27]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Виктор Лукашенко. TUT.by. 13 November 2017. 23 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210123090541/https://news.tut.by/tag/ex6852-viktor-lukashenko.html. dead.
  2. Web site: Бизнесмен Зайцев покинул футбольный клуб «Динамо-Брест», который стал государственным . 6 March 2021 . 21 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210121060941/https://news.tut.by/economics/714662.html . dead .
  3. Web site: Александр Зайцев Ежедневник. 2021-08-05. ej.by. ru. 28 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210628103736/https://ej.by/rating/business2019/alexandr-zaytsev.html. dead.
  4. Web site: Belarusian Tycoons Slipped into the EU via Lithuanian Investments | Journalismfund. www.journalismfund.eu. 4 May 2022.
  5. Web site: Belarus president wants industrial, logistics hub in Orsha District sooner. 2018-07-11.
  6. Web site: Reuters Staff . Lukashenko's son replaces father at helm of Belarusian Olympic Committee after ban . Reuters . 28 February 2021 . Moscow, Russia . en . Feb 26, 2021.
  7. Web site: Viktor Lukashenko relieved of post of Aide to President for National Security . BelTA . . 2 March 2021 . 1 March 2021 .
  8. https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=61552 Поўны спіс 208 беларускіх чыноўнікаў, якім забаронены ўезд у ЕС
  9. Web site: Денис Лавникевич. Батьке простили старые грехи. Gazeta.Ru. 2016-02-15. 2021-09-10. ru.
  10. Web site: EUR-Lex - 32012D0642 - EN - EUR-Lex. 2021-08-05. eur-lex.europa.eu. en.
  11. Web site: OFAC Sanctions List Search. 8 April 2018.
  12. Web site: COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/1648 of 6 November 2020 implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus. eur-lex.europa.eu. 4 May 2022.
  13. News: ЕС ввёл санкции против Александра Лукашенко и его сына. Радио Свобода. 6 November 2020 . 4 May 2022.
  14. Web site: Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK. Government of the United Kingdom. 2021-09-08.
  15. Web site: Canada. Global Affairs. 2015-10-19. Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations. 2020-12-25. Global Affairs Canada. 2020-12-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20201219051305/https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/sanctions/belarus_regulations-reglements_belarus2.aspx?lang=eng. dead. en.
  16. Web site: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against Belarus. Council of the European Union. 2020-11-24. 2021-09-08.
  17. Web site: Belarus: Federal Council extends scope of sanctions. Federal Council. 2020-12-11. 2021-09-06.
  18. Web site: АртХаoс. Arthaos . 2 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170911140902/https://arthaos.com/ . 11 September 2017 . Belarusian.
  19. Web site: Lukashenko-linked firms active in EU member Cyprus. 14 October 2020 . 2021-02-08.
  20. Web site: What do Lukashenka's daughter-in-law and Cyprus have in common?. 16 January 2021.
  21. Web site: Construction for Minsk-Mir gets green light. 14 August 2019 . 2021-02-08.
  22. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0997&from=EN COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/997
  23. Web site: Четвёртый пакет санкций в отношении Белоруссии. Главное . 21 June 2021. 18 September 2021. Полина Химшиашвили, Евгений Пудовкин, Светлана Бурмистрова. RBK Group. ru.
  24. Web site: IOC EB TAKES PROVISIONAL MEASURES AGAINST NOC OF BELARUS . 2021-01-29 . 2020-12-07 . The International Olympic Committee .
  25. Web site: Australia places additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus . Media release . Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade . 25 March 2022 . 26 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325120854/https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-release/australia-places-additional-sanctions-russia-and-belarus . 25 March 2022 . live.
  26. Web site: Russia Sanctions Regulations 2022. 2022-11-22. 2022-11-29. New Zealand Legislation.
  27. Web site: 資産凍結等の措置の対象となるベラルーシ共和国の個人及び団体 . ja . 2022-04-20 . 2022-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327043626/https://www.mof.go.jp/policy/international_policy/gaitame_kawase/gaitame/economic_sanctions/ukraine_list_belarus_20220311.pdf . live .