1. Biography of Yefim Zviagilsky
2. Political Career

Biography of Yefim Zviagilsky

Early Life and Career

Yefim Zviagilsky was born on February 20, 1933, in a Jewish family in the city of Stalino (now Donetsk). He graduated from the Mining Faculty of the Donetsk Industrial Institute in 1956, specializing in mining engineering.

From 1957 to 1970, Zviagilsky climbed the career ladder from assistant chief of a coal section to the director of Mine No. 13 of the Kuybyshevugol Trust in Donetsk. For the next nine years (1970-1979), he served as the director of the Kuybyshevskaya Mine, and in 1979, he became the director of the A.F. Zasyadko Mine.

Political Career

In March 1990, Yefim Zviagilsky, a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), was elected as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from the single-mandate electoral district No. 112. Concurrently, he continued working at the A.F. Zasyadko Mine for another two years. In November 1992, he was elected chairman of the Donetsk City Council and City Executive Committee.

In June 1993, Zviagilsky was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine in Leonid Kuchma's Cabinet. On September 22 of the same year, following Kuchma's resignation, Zviagilsky was entrusted with the responsibilities of the Prime Minister. However, due to illness, President Leonid Kravchuk took over as the de facto head of the government shortly thereafter.

In the parliamentary elections in March 1994, Yefim Zviagilsky was once again elected as a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, this time from the single-mandate electoral district No. 110 as an independent candidate. Prior to the presidential elections in the summer of 1994, Zviagilsky became a major target of criticism from the opposition, accusing him of abuses of office and being close to President Leonid Kravchuk. As a result of this campaign, Zviagilsky faced the threat of investigation and resigned from his government post on June 15, 1994. In November of the same year, he repatriated to Israel.

Zviagilsky returned to Ukraine in March 1997 and, as a result, did not participate in parliamentary sessions for over two consecutive years, although he remained a full member. In 1998, he was awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of Donetsk." During the parliamentary elections in 1998, he was elected as a deputy for the third time from the single-mandate district No. 43. At the same time, as an independent candidate, Zviagilsky was supported by the Party of Regions, which traditionally enjoyed the largest support in the Donbass region where the district No. 43 was located. Zviagilsky became one of the leaders of the Party of Regions in Donbass and was elected as a People's Deputy for the fourth time in the 2002 parliamentary elections.

On February 20, 2003, on Yefim Zviagilsky's 70th birthday, he was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. In 2006, Zviagilsky became a member of the Ukrainian parliament for the fifth consecutive time, representing the ninth place on the electoral list of the Party of Regions.

After a year and a half, Zviagilsky became a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for the sixth time, again securing the ninth place on the electoral list of the Party of Regions, a feat unmatched by any other politician. Yefim Zviagilsky is also a co-president of the Jewish Conference of Ukraine.

Statesmen