President Zelensky has become a key figure of Ukraine’s resilience through the war (Photo by Nik Oiko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has become a global figure since the Russian invasion of Ukraine one year ago.
Throughout the conflict, he has promoted a message of Ukranianan resilience, sending messages from both Kyiv and on the world stage.
Recently, US President Joe Biden was pictured meeting President Zelensky in Ukraine, while Zelensky also visited England in February 2023, meeting both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III.
In a speech at Westminster during that visit to the UK, Zelensky spoke of how bravery ‘rewards victory’.
He added: ‘We know freedom will win. We know Russia will lose and this will change the world.
Even without the current conflict, Zelensky’s political career has not been a traditional one.
Here is everything you need to know about the Ukrainian President, from his path to becoming a leader to his family life…
Who is Volodymyr Zelensky and was he an actor?
Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, was born on January 25, 1978, in the city of Kryvyi Rih in what was then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Born to Jewish parents, his father – Oleksandr Zelensky – is a professor and head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics. His mother, Rymma Zelenska, used to work as an engineer.
Zelensky studied law at the Kyiv Economic University but decided to pursue a career in comedy instead, joining Ukraine’s KVN TV comedy league at the age of 17.
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After forming his own comedy troupe called Kvartal 95, he went on to have success touring a number of ex-Soviet states – including Moscow – before the team began producing television programs for Ukrainian TV.
As an actor, he even provided the voice of the beloved character Paddington in the Ukrainian dub of the popular family movies.
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It was in 2015 that he began to take a more serious turn towards politics with his role in the show Servant Of The People.
He played a character called Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, a school teacher who wakes up to find that a rant he made against corrupt politicians went viral and catapulted him to the presidency.
Life would go on to imitate art, as the show proved so popular that Kvartal 95 created its own political party named after the show, with Zelenskyy himself announcing his candidacy for president in 2018.
In a 2019 interview with Der Spiegel, Zelenskyy said he went into politics to restore trust in politicians and he wanted ‘to bring professional, decent people to power.’
Zelensky had a career in comedy prior to becoming president (Picture: PA/Zuma)
‘I would really like to change the mood and timbre of the political establishment, as much as possible’ he said.
The Ukrainian people responded well, as he went on to win the election in a landslide with over 73% of the vote.
Zelensky was inaugurated in May 2019, going on to gain worldwide recognition as the wartime leader leading his country since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Is Volodymyr Zelensky married?
The Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska delivers a speech at a presentation for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence annual international campaign (Picture: Pavlo_Bagmut/ Ukrinform/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Zelensky has been married to Ukrainian architect and screenwriter Olena Kiyashko, 45, since 2003.
The two had attended the same school together, but did not become acquainted until much later when Zelenska was studying at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Kryvyi Rih National University.
She also worked as a writer for the Kvartal 95 comedy group.
Earlier this year, the Ukrainian first lady made a rare address in Davos, Switzerland where she asked leaders of the World Economic Forum to support a 10-point peace plan by her husband.
‘What will happen to the cost of living when tens of millions of people will be forced to flee mass starvation and become refugees? Unity is what brings peace,’ said Mrs Zelenska.
Do they have any children?
The couple has two children, a daughter Oleksandra, 18, born in July 2004 and a son – Kyryl, 10 – who was born in January 2013.
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The comedian turned politician.
