Alexander Lukashenko

Alexander Lukashenko
Александр Лукашенко Аляксандр Лукашэнка
Lukashenko in 2022
President of Belarus
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 July 1994 Disputed since 23 September 2020[1]
Prime Minister	Mikhail Chigir Sergey Ling Vladimir Yermoshin Gennady Novitsky Sergei Sidorsky Mikhail Myasnikovich Andrei Kobyakov Syarhey Rumas Roman Golovchenko
Preceded by	Myechyslaw Hryb (as head of state and Chairman of the Supreme Council)
Chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 January 2000
Chairman of the Council of Ministers	Vladimir Putin Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Fradkov Viktor Zubkov Dmitry Medvedev Mikhail Mishustin
General Secretary	Pavel Borodin Grigory Rapota Dmitry Mezentsev
Preceded by	Office established
Member of the Supreme Council of Belarus
In office 25 August 1991 – 20 July 1994
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (1954-08-31) 31 August 1954 (age 70) Kopys, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Independent (1992–present)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1979–1991) Communists for Democracy (1991–1992) Belaya Rus (2007–present; affiliated non-member)
Spouse(s)	Galina Zhelnerovich ​ (m. 1975)​
Children	Viktor Dmitry Nikolai
Mother	Ekaterina Trofimovna Lukashenko
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Economist and Collective Farmer[2]
Signature
Website	president.gov.by
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Belarus
Branch/service	Soviet Border Troops Belarusian Armed Forces
Years of service	1975–1977 1980–1982 1994–present
Rank	Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant Colonel[3]

Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (born 30 August 1954) is the President of the country of Belarus. He has been its leader since 1994. He was the first leader of the country to be chosen by Belarus citizens.

Before becoming the leader, he belonged to the law making section of the government. He was also in the military of the Soviet Union and ran a factory that made things to help farming.

His re-election in 2020 was seen as controversial with many saying it was rigged and unfair. His re-election caused many to protest against the election results.^[4] After the contested election, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and the United States do not recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus.^[5][6][7]

In July 2020, he said that he had COVID-19 after telling people that to avoid the disease they should drink vodka and go to a sauna.^[8]

Alexander Lukashenko is under the sanctions of the United States,^[9] the European Union,^[10] the United Kingdom,^[11] Switzerland,^[12] Canada,^[13] Japan,^[14] Australia^[15] and New Zealand^[16][17][18]

On February 25, 2024, Alexander Lukashenko announced that he was running for the 2025 presidential elections, which means that he is running for an eighth consecutive term.^[19]

1. ↑ "Exiled leader calls weekend of protests in Belarus". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
   "Golos platform presents the final report on the presidential election". Voiceofbelarus.com. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
   "EU rejects Lukashenko inauguration as illegitimate". Dw.com. 24 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
   Ljunggren, Josh Smith (29 September 2020). "Britain and Canada impose sanctions on Belarus leader Lukashenko". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
   "OSCE Report on the Presidential Elections 2020 in Belarus" (PDF). Osce.org. 29 October 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
   "Belarus protesters battered, bruised but defiant after 100 days". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
2. ↑ Mirovalev, Mansur (November 25, 2021). "Europe's 'last dictator': Who is Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko?". Aljazeera.
3. ↑ "Lukashenko reveals his military rank". belarus.by. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
4. ↑ "Менск: да «Рыгі» дабраліся сілавікі, пачалася зачыстка, чуваць шумавыя гранаты, будуюцца барыкады". Радыё Свабода (in Belarusian).
5. ↑ "El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him"". eeas.europa.eu. 24 August 2020.
6. ↑ Dave Lawler, U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus, Axios (24 September 2020).
7. ↑ "Які країни не визнали інавгурацію Лукашенка. Список". BBC News Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
8. ↑ Europe's last dictator got COVID-19 after telling people they could avoid it by drinking vodka and going to the sauna
9. ↑ Sanctions List Search
10. ↑ 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
11. ↑ "Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
12. ↑ Searching for subjects of sanctions
13. ↑ "Backgrounder: Belarus sanctions". Global Affairs Canada. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
14. ↑ "Japan hits Russia and Belarus with more sanctions over Ukraine invasion". The Japan Times. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
15. ↑ "Australia places additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Media release). 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
16. ↑ Nanaia Mahuta (2021-06-17). "New Zealand introduces Belarus travel bans". Government of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
17. ↑ "Belarus". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand). Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
18. ↑ Nanaia Mahuta (2022-05-16). "Belarusian leaders and defence entities targeted under latest round of sanctions". Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
19. ↑ "https://www.svoboda.org/a/lukashenko-zayavil-chto-v-2025-godu-poydyot-na-vybory/32834331.html". Svoboda (in Russian). 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-02-25. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)