Oleksandr Hereha

Ukrainian politician
Олександр Герега
Hereha in 2017
People's Deputy of Ukraine
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2012Preceded byConstituency establishedConstituencyKhmelnytskyi Oblast, No. 192 Personal detailsBorn (1967-06-27) 27 June 1967 (age 56)
Horodok, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)Political partyZM (since 2019)Other political
affiliations
  • Party of Regions (2012–2014)
  • For Tangible Solutions [uk] (since 2015)
  • Independent
SpouseHalynaMilitary serviceAllegianceSoviet UnionBranch/service Soviet ArmyYears of service1984–1985

Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Hereha (Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Володи́мирович Гере́га; born 27 June 1967) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician currently serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from Ukraine's 192nd electoral district since 12 December 2012. One of the richest men in Ukraine, Hereha and his wife Halyna founded home improvement chain Epicentr K in 2003. He is one of the richest men in Ukraine, with a net worth of $1.7 billion in 2021.

Early life and career

Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Hereha was born on 27 June 1967 in Horodok, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. His parents were factory workers. From 1984 to 1985, he served in the Soviet Army, and he subsequently studied at the Khmelnytskyi Cooperative Technical School [uk] from 1987 to 1990 before graduating from the Lviv University of Trade and Economics with a specialisation in organisational and administrative management.[1]

Business career

Hereha began working as a schoolboy, working at the local bread factory and sovkhoz on school holidays. In 1991, he founded a ceramic tiling and plumbing fixture service, before opening a retail store in 1996.[1]

In 2003, Hereha and his wife Halyna founded Epicentr K, a gardening and home improvement chain which also owns the Nova Line supermarket chain and the Intersport sports retailer. As of 2021[update], 60 million people use Epicentr K's online services. Epicentr K has also forayed into agribusiness, owning its own production facilities and absorbing 19 production facilities in 2017.[1]

The Hereha family has invested over ₴6 billion into agribusiness, with plans to invest an additional ₴2.5 billion in grain elevators. 20 livestock farms are owned by the Herehas. In 2019, they invested ₴3 billion into the development of a ceramic tile factory in Kalynivka, Fastiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast.[2]

Hereha is one of the richest people in Ukraine, with a net worth of $1.7 billion according to Kyiv Post in 2021. According to the Pandora Papers, Hereha and his wife own five offshore companies in Cyprus.[3]

Business activities in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea

In 2018, it became known that the Hereha family had continued the operations of Epicentr K in Crimea following the peninsula's 2014 annexation by Russia. It was additionally discovered that they had been operating a company in Russia's Moscow Oblast.[4] Hereha has claimed that he does not control Epicentr K in Crimea since the Russian annexation.[3]

Political career

Hereha was first elected as a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election as the candidate from Ukraine's 192nd electoral district. Elected as an independent, he joined the Party of Regions faction in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament). In 2014, he voted in favour of the anti-protest laws aimed at curbing the Euromaidan protests.[5] He left the Party of Regions faction in February 2014.[6]

In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, he won re-election with 73.86% of the vote, defeating the next-closest challenger, Myroslav Musiy, from the People's Front.[7] He founded the party For Tangible Solutions [uk] in 2015.[8] In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, he was again re-elected as a People's Deputy, winning 45.95% of the vote and defeating his closest competitor, Vasyl Humenyuk, from Servant of the People.[9] Following his election, he became a member of For the Future. He is a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on tax, finance, and customs policy.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Герега Олександр Володимирович" [Hereha, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych]. LB.ua (in Ukrainian). 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  2. ^ "Гереги інвестували у свій агробізнес 6 мільярдів" [Herehas invest 6 million in their agrobusiness]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  3. ^ a b Sukhov, Oleg (2021-10-08). "Ukraine leads with 38 politicians using offshores in global leak". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  4. ^ Savchuk, Maksym (2018-02-16). "Власник мережі «Епіцентр» депутат Герега має бізнес в Криму і фірму в Росії – «Схеми»" [Deputy Hereha, owner of "Epicentr" network, has business in Crimea and firm in Russia - "Schemes"]. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  5. ^ Zhdanov, Ihor (2014-01-18). "Дошка ганьби, або поіменний список тих, хто голосував за диктаторський закон" [The board of shame, or a list of names of those who voted for the dictatorship laws]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  6. ^ a b "Герега Олександр Володимирович" [Hereha, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych]. Chesno (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  7. ^ "Одномандатний виборчий округ №192" [Single-mandate electoral district No. 192]. Central Election Commission of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 2014-10-26. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  8. ^ "Політичні партії" [Political parties]. Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  9. ^ "Відомості про підрахунок голосів виборців в одномандатному виборчому окрузі №192" [Information on counting of voters' votes in single-mandate electoral district No. 192]. Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2022-11-17.