Oleksandr Danylyuk

Oleksandr Oleksandrovich Danylyuk (Олександр Олександрович Данилюк, born 22 July 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and military serviceman who served as the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (2019), the Minister of Finance of Ukraine (2016-2018).

Danylyuk is a co-founder and the Head of the Center for National Resilience and Development.

Oleksandr Danylyuk was born in a family of scientists.

His father, Oleksandr Danylyuk, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, while the mother, Lyudmila Danyliuk, taught cybernetics at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

He also studied at the Kyiv Institute of Investment Management (1995) and obtained MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2001.

Oleksandr Danylyuk worked in the private sector as a consultant and investment manager in a number of companies, including TEKT, Alfa Capital and Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) in Ukraine.

Later Danylyuk worked at McKinsey & Company London and Moscow offices for three years.

His project portfolio included reform of the UK tax system as well as strategy development and operations optimization in energy and telecom projects.

Oleksandr Danylyuk graduated from the National Technical University of Ukraine with a degree in electric engineering in 1998.

Oleksandr Danylyuk first joined public service in 2005 as economic advisor to the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov.

In his team Danylyuk worked on energy reform and carried out privatization of state-owned enterprises, including Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine's largest integrated steel company, which became part of the global steel producer Mittal Steel Company N.V.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych appointed Danylyuk his adviser (out of state).

Between 2006 and 2010, Danylyuk chaired the Rurik Investment fund that operated in London and Luxembourg.

In 2010–2015, Danylyuk chaired the Economic Reforms Coordination Center – an apolitical think tank under the aegis of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

McKinsey & Company drafted the initial strategy of the center.

He won the competition for the position.

The Economic Reforms Coordination Center focused on drafting bills and introducing practices designed to improve investment climate in Ukraine, uphold the rule of law and intensify cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.

Danylyuk actively supported signing of the EU-Ukraine association agreement, despite active opposition within the Government of the pro-Russian lobbyists.

The Coordination center developed the holistic reform agenda which acts as a foundation of the transformations following Revolution of Dignity.

President Yanukovych largely ignored this Coordination Centre.

Danylyuk was dismissed as advisor by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov on 24 February 2014.

March 2014 –July 2014  Oleksandr Danylyuk headed group of advisors to the Vice-Prime minister Volodymyr Groysman.

On 17 July 2014 he worked as a permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

From September 2015 he worked as a deputy head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

In 2016, Oleksandr Danylyuk was appointed a Minister of Finance.

He declared his key objectives at the position – better investment climate in Ukraine, transparent rules of doing business for Ukrainian entrepreneurs and foreign investors and public finance reform.

Danyliuk's team also designed the Public Finance Administration Strategy 2017–2021 which enables effective planning and better quality of public services with taxpayers' money.

Ministry of Finance priorities under the leadership of Danylyuk was:State Fiscal Service reform and its transformation from a punitive agency in a service-oriented agency, Financial Investigation Service to replace tax police, Customs reform, Improving tax legislation, Introduction of mid-term budget planning, Implementation of the State Banks Development Strategy, E-Data project development for public spending, Audit reform, Internal reform to drive reforms in other areas.

Danylyuk used this as formal pretext to remove him from his position in Feb 2017, and later 2018 despite significant push back from the prime-minister succeeded in firing him permanently.

Shortly after appointment Danylyuk renewed cooperation with IMF after long pause which allowed to unlock funding.

Danylyuk leveraged trusted relationship with IMF.

On 7 June 2018, Ukraine's parliament voted in support of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman's motion to dismiss Finance Minister Danylyuk.

Groysman had asked for Danylyuk's dismissal in response to Danylyuk's May 2018 letter to the ambassadors of the G-7 top industrial nations saying that Groysman was stalling vital reforms of the State Fiscal Service that are needed to combat corruption.

Groysman said Danylyuk's actions may have hurt Ukraine's negotiations with the European Union about economic aid.

Danylyuk stated that he had been asked to use government money to fund particular politicians favoured projects, effectively to back political corruption.

Danylyuk stated that Groysman seek his dismissal to prevent reform of State Fiscal Service notoriously known for its corruption and headed by the Groysman old ally Prodan.

Danylyuk initiated dismissal of Roman Nasirov, Head of State Fiscal Service, whom he accused of corruption and sabotaging reforms in tax administration.

He filed the respective cases with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

Nasirov, who enjoyed support of many influential people in power, was later investigated and formally accused by NABU of corruption.

The government's mid-term priority action plan for 2020 outlines key milestones that the Ministry of Finance has to achieve.