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Elena BondarenkoUkrainian political and public figure, historian, journalist
Date of Birth: 26.05.1974
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Elena Bondarenko was born on May 26, 1974, in Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Her parents were a miner and a nurse.
In 1991, Bondarenko enrolled in the history faculty of Donetsk State University. In 1993, she also enrolled in a correspondence program for journalism, graduating from both programs in 1996. In 2004, she graduated from the faculty of administrative management at Donetsk State Academy of Management.
Political Career
Bondarenko's political career began in 1997 when she became involved in political journalism. She worked for the regional branch of the Inter TV channel, TRK Novy Donbass, where she hosted weekly political news programs.
In 2001, the regional branch of the Green Party invited Bondarenko to be their public press secretary. Later that year, Boris Kolesnikov, who had been elected Chairman of the Donetsk Oblast Council, invited Bondarenko to join his team. She initially worked as his assistant and later headed the press service created by the Oblast Council.
In the 2006 parliamentary elections, Bondarenko was elected as a Member of Parliament on the list of the Party of Regions (No. 125). She served on the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information, where she headed the subcommittee on advertising and later became the committee's First Deputy Chairman. She was also a member of the Verkhovna Rada's temporary investigative commissions investigating the death of Georgy Gongadze and the corruption and abuse of office by certain Interior Ministry officials.
In the 2007 snap parliamentary elections, Bondarenko headed the communications department of the Party of Regions' central election headquarters. She was re-elected as an MP on the Party of Regions' list (No. 145). She again served on the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information, this time as Head of the Subcommittee on Television and Radio Broadcasting.
Bondarenko authored a bill that abolished the mandatory 50% quota for broadcasting Ukrainian music on television and radio stations. In 2012, she was re-elected to the Verkhovna Rada. That year, she delivered a condemning speech against Andrey Shevchenko, the head of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech and information and a representative of the Batkivshchyna party. She accused him of abusing power, falsifying documents, and disrupting the committee's work, and the parliament voted for his resignation.
Bondarenko also authored the bill "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Regulation of the Telecommunications Sphere," which exempted telecommunications operators and providers from the requirement to obtain a license to provide Internet access services.
Public Activities
Bondarenko is a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. In May 2011, she was elected President of the Association of Copyright Holders and Content Providers, a public organization with the stated goal of developing the content and pay-TV market in Ukraine, protecting the interests of authors and their intellectual property rights, and meeting the growing demand for content among consumers.
From September 26, 2014, to March 2015, Bondarenko was the head of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian media holding UMH.
After the Euromaidan, she participated in Russian political talk shows, where she criticized the country's new authorities.
Family
Bondarenko is married to Andrey Yuryevich Bondarenko (born 1969), a former deputy of the Donetsk Oblast Council. In 2006, he was appointed head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Donetsk Oblast, and in 2010, he became Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations under Nestor Shufrych. In 2012, he was Director of the Department of Financial and Economic Policy and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.
Bondarenko has two children, daughter Polina (born 1999) and son Mikhail (born 2010).
