Today at 20:06
Volodymyr Zelenskyi, 41, grew up in Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city in central Ukraine and obtained a law degree at Kyiv’s National Economic University.
As a student, Zelenskyi was an active member of the KVN or “Club of the Funny and Inventive People.” From this comedy TV show, he created his own team, calling it “Kvartal 95.”
In 2003, he married Olena Kiyashko. The two met each other in school, as they studied in parallel classes. They had two children, daughter Oleksandra and son Kyrylo.
In 2005, Zelenskyi created a TV show. He named it “Kvartal 95.” In addition, he was the General Producer at a Ukrainian TV channel for two years, producing and starring in more than ten full-length feature films.
Zelenskyi had never worked as a government official and had never been connected with politics.
However, Zelenskyi ran for office with the “Servant of the People” party. The party was given the same title as that of a Netflix show in which he played the role of a school teacher who inadvertently is propelled to the Ukrainian presidency after a filmed-rant against corruption goes viral.
Zelenskyi’s election campaign was unconventional not only for Ukraine but also the entire world.
Instead of the candidate’s tour, he organized tours for Kvartal 95. He recorded video messages for the voters instead of holding press conferences and having meetings.
In the 2nd round of elections, Zelenskyi secured 73 percent of the vote. In Ukraine, this number was record-breaking.
During his election program, Zelenskyi promised to digitalize the country. He said he would make it possible for people to set up businesses within an hour, get a passport in 15 minutes, and vote in just a second.
Zelenskyi intends to submit bills on lifting parliamentarian immunity, as well as introducing the procedure for impeaching the president. He said he only plans to be president for a single term.
