Oleg Tyagnibok Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Association "Freedom" Date of Birth: 07.11.1968 Country: Ukraine

1. Biography of Oleh Tyahnybok
2. Early Life and Education
3. Political Career
4. Political Views and Personal Life

Biography of Oleh Tyahnybok

Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (also spelled Tyagnybok) was born on November 7, 1968, in Lviv, Ukraine. He is the chairman of the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" and has held this position since 2004. Tyahnybok has been a member of the Lviv Regional Council since 2006. He was previously a member of the Ukrainian Parliament for the fourth (2002-2006) and third (1998-2002) convocations, as well as the Lviv Regional Council for the second convocation (1994-1998). Tyahnybok was one of the leaders of the Social-National Party of Ukraine and served as the head of the party's Kyiv city organization (1998-2003) and Lviv regional organization (1997-1998).

Early Life and Education

Tyahnybok was born into a family of doctors in Lviv. His father, Yaroslav Tyahnybok, was a sports doctor and served as the chief doctor of the Soviet Union boxing team from 1982 to 1984. Tyahnybok's maternal grandfather, Artemiy Tsegelsky, a Greek-Catholic priest, had a significant influence on his political views. Artemiy Tsegelsky was exiled to Siberia for ten years in 1946 for refusing to convert to Orthodoxy but returned to Lviv and trained underground seminarians. Tyahnybok's great-grandfather, Longin Tsegelsky, served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic in 1919 and later represented the republic's government in the United States.

Tyahnybok served in the Soviet Army from 1987 to 1989. During his military service, he claimed that he was approached by the KGB for recruitment. After serving in the army, Tyahnybok worked in the Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital as a medical orderly and nurse in the surgical and neurosurgical departments. He obtained a medical degree from the Lviv State Medical Institute in 1993, specializing in surgery.

Political Career

In 1990-1991, Tyahnybok led the "Student Brotherhood" cell at the Lviv Medical Institute, which he claimed to be one of the founders of. He joined the newly established Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU) in 1991, led by Lviv doctors Yaroslav Andrushkiv and Yuri Krivoruchko. In the same year, Tyahnybok became the leader of the "Student Brotherhood" in Lviv, an organization that was described as national-radical in the press. The group later merged with the SNPU, leading to its expulsion from the Ukrainian Student Union. The SNPU was officially registered in 1995.

Tyahnybok began his political career in the Lviv City Clinical Hospital for Emergency Medical Services, where he worked as an intern in the urology and 1st surgical departments from 1993 to 1996. In 1994, he was elected to the Lviv Regional Council of People's Deputies for the second convocation. Simultaneously, Tyahnybok advanced in his party career, becoming the SNPU's authorized representative for organizational work in 1995 and the head of the Lviv regional organization in 1997. In 1998, Tyahnybok ran for the Ukrainian Parliament for the first time and won as a representative of the "Less Words" electoral bloc. Although the bloc as a whole lost the election, Tyahnybok won in the Busk electoral district #120 in Lviv. He became a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's third convocation and joined the faction of the People's Movement of Ukraine, led by Vyacheslav Chornovil. Tyahnybok served on the parliament's budget committee. In April 1998, he was elected as the chairman of the Kyiv city organization of the SNPU and held this position until 2003. During this period, Tyahnybok also pursued a second higher education and received a degree in law from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in 1999.

In 2002, Tyahnybok was re-elected to the Ukrainian Parliament as a representative of the electoral bloc "Our Ukraine," but this time as a single-mandate candidate in Lviv. He joined the "Our Ukraine" faction and became a member of the parliamentary budget committee again. In February 2004, the SNPU changed its name to the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (VO "Svoboda") and abandoned the previously used symbols associated with German Nazis. Tyahnybok was elected as its chairman. In the same year, he sparked controversy with a speech on Mount Yavorina, dedicated to the memory of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) fighters, in which he made inflammatory remarks about various ethnic groups. As a result, Tyahnybok was expelled from the "Our Ukraine" faction by Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of the bloc. He was also reportedly investigated for inciting hatred, but no court case was initiated.

Under Tyahnybok's leadership, "Svoboda" participated in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections in 2006 and 2007 but did not achieve significant success. Tyahnybok himself was unsuccessful in his bid to become the chairman of the Lviv Regional Council in 2006, losing to Miroslav Senyk, the deputy governor of the region. In April 2008, "Svoboda" nominated Tyahnybok as a candidate for the mayor of Kyiv, but he finished second to last in the election, with the incumbent mayor Leonid Chernovetsky retaining his position. However, "Svoboda" achieved some success in regional elections starting from 2006, with its representatives being elected to the Lviv Regional Council, Lviv City Council, and Ternopil City Council. In March 2009, "Svoboda" participated in the elections of the Ternopil Regional Council and emerged victorious, receiving 34.69% of the votes and securing 50 out of 120 parliamentary seats.

Political Views and Personal Life

Tyahnybok has been described as a proponent of a "competent energy policy" for Ukraine, advocating for the country to reduce its reliance on energy imports from Russia and increase transit tariffs for energy resources passing through Ukrainian territory. He also emphasized the need for legislative measures to ensure the dominant position of the Ukrainian language and the recognition of Ukrainians as the "titular nation." Despite these positions, Tyahnybok has denied being anti-Russian or antisemitic. He is fluent in Polish and German.

Outside of politics, Tyahnybok is interested in sports and has identified himself as a fan of the Lviv football club "Karpaty." He was also known as the first president of the Hand-to-Hand Combat HOPAK Federation, a Ukrainian national martial art, but later stepped down from the position in favor of Mykola Velychkovych. Tyahnybok has mentioned his appreciation for classical music, rock, and rock 'n' roll, but has expressed a preference for Ukrainian national music.

Tyahnybok is married to Olha Tyahnybok (nee Demchyshyn), a specialist in epidemiology. Together, they have three children: daughters Yaryna-Mariya and Daryna-Bohdana, and son Horey.