Ukraine appoints 25-year-old to high-ranking European integration post
A young Ukrainian woman, who graduated from a Kiev university with a master’s degree in journalism just three years ago, has been appointed as the nation’s deputy social policy minister with responsibility for European integration.
Anna Sergeeva, who was born in 1996, was promoted to the position on June 10 despite having almost no public service experience. She previously ran a management consultancy firm.
The new deputy minister appears to have had very little involvement with public administration prior to her appointment by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal.
According to her profile published by the ministry, Sergeeva graduated from Taras Shevchenko University in Kiev, majoring in journalism. She also received a master’s degree in the same field at the same university the following year. In 2021, she attained a bachelor’s degree, this time in law, and is now undertaking further postgraduate studies in journalism.
Between 2019 and 2022, she also ran a management consultancy firm called Service Revisor. The company, which, according to the Ukrainian media, provided services to barber shops and beauty salons, still lists Sergeeva as its owner and “final beneficiary.”
According to her Facebook page, she also worked for the Ukrainian ‘1+1’ TV channel’s news service, as well as for BBC before her appointment to the ministerial position. She is also reportedly a successful blogger with over 92,000 followers on Instagram. Her account on the platform was recently set to private, however.
Ukraine’s Social Policy Ministry also added that Sergeeva was “actively engaged in public activities” over the past four years as she contributed to the “socialization of children with physical and mental disabilities,” as well as supporting lonely elderly people and orphans. She also worked as an “adviser” to Ukraine’s social policy minister “in a voluntary capacity,” the ministry’s statement added.
