Leonid Derkach Acting State Advisor to the Customs Service of Ukraine. Country: Ukraine

Biography of Leonid Derkach

Leonid Derkach is a Ukrainian civil servant and former politician. He was born in 1939 in Dnipro, Ukraine. Derkach obtained his higher education at Dnipro State University, graduating in 1970 with a degree in engineering mechanics for aircraft. He furthered his education by attending the Higher Courses of the KGB in 1973.

Derkach started his professional career in 1957 as an assistant to a master at the "Pochtovy Yashchik 186" enterprise. He then worked as a senior engineer-technologist at the Southern Machine-Building Plant and as the deputy director of the Pavlohrad Mechanical Plant. In 1972, he joined the regional branches of the KGB and rose through the ranks, serving as the head of the Pavlohrad City Department and the deputy head of the Dnipro Regional Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

From 1992 to 1994, Derkach served as the Chairman of the State Service of Ukraine for Technical Protection of Information. He then became the First Deputy Chairman of the SBU from 1994 to 1995. In July 1995, he assumed the position of Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Ukraine. Additionally, Derkach joined the Coordinating Committee for the Fight against Organized Crime and Corruption in February 1996. Since November of the same year, he has been leading the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

Derkach has also been involved in politics, serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from 2002 to 2006. He represented the electoral district № 36 in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. In recognition of his contributions and achievements, Derkach has been awarded the rank of Lieutenant General and holds the title of Honored State Counselor of the Customs Service.