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 Kostyantyn Gryshchenko
Kostyantyn Gryshchenko is Vice-chairman of the Republican Party
of Ukraine.
Before entering politics, Mr. Gryshchenko had a distinguished
career as a senior government official in foreign affairs,
serving Ukraine as its representative in international
negotiations that were critical in strengthening Ukraine’s
independence and security. His rise through the ranks of
diplomacy culminated in his appointment as Ukraine’s Foreign
Minister (September 2003 – February 2005).
Prior to that he was Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States
(2000-2003); Head of Mission of Ukraine to NATO; Ambassador of
Ukraine to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; and
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (1998-2000).
From 1995 to 1998, as a Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, he
covered arms control and disarmament; Russian and CIS affairs;
European security; and bilateral relations with Asian, Pacific,
African and Middle Eastern countries. He served as Chairman of
the National Committee of Ukraine on Disarmament, and
Vice-Chairman of the State Commission of Ukraine on Export
Control Policy, as well as Representative of Ukraine on
implementation commissions under the START-I, INF and ABM
disarmament treaties. He was also Ukraine’s chief negotiator on
delimitation of the borders with Russia, Belarus and Moldova,
and the division of the Black Sea Fleet. In 1996 when Ukraine
was invited to participate in the G-8 Summit on Nuclear Safety
and Security in Moscow, Gryshchenko served in a unique role as
his country’s Sherpa at that Summit.
Mr. Gryshchenko first worked at the United Nations in New York
from 1976 to 1980. He continued his career in the Soviet Union’s
Foreign Ministry where his last position was with the department
of arms limitation and disarmament. After Ukraine’s
independence, he immediately moved to Kyiv where he was assigned
to a newly formed arms control and disarmament department and
soon became its director. His main responsibilities were
practical nuclear disarmament, negotiations on military and
security issues, Chornobyl assistance and nuclear safety.
Mr. Gryshchenko served in a personal capacity on a number of
important UN bodies and missions: in 2000-2003 he was appointed
by the UN Secretary General to serve on the College of
Commissioners of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission (UNMOVIC) as well as to the UN Advisory Board on
Disarmament Matters (served as Chairman in 2003). In 1991 he
served as Deputy Chief inspector of the first UN inspection for
biological weapons in Iraq.
Mr. Gryshchenko has received a number of national awards and
state decorations from foreign countries.
He was born in 1953 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has a degree from the
Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Department of
International Law (1975).
He speaks fluently English, French and Russian.
Mr. Gryshchenko is married and has a daughter and two
grandchildren.
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