Valery Pavlovich Vakulchik (Belarusian: Валерый Паўлавіч Вакульчык, Russian: Валерий Павлович Вакульчик, born 19 June 1964) is a Belarusian civil servant and soldier. He was the Chairman of State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB, SSCRB) from November 16, 2012, to September 3, 2020. Vakulchik was also Secretary of the State Security Council of the Republic of Belarus from September 3, 2020, to October 29, 2020.
Valery Vakulchik | |
|---|---|
| Валерый Вакульчык | |
 | |
| State Secretary of Security Council of Belarus | |
| In office 3 September 2020 – 29 October 2020 | |
| President | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Preceded by | Andrei Ravkov |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Volfovich |
| Chairman of State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus | |
| In office 16 November 2012 – 3 September 2020 | |
| President | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Preceded by | Vadim Zaytsev |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Tertel |
| Chairman of Investigative Committee of Belarus | |
| In office 24 October 2011 – 16 November 2012 | |
| President | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Valentin Shaev |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 June 1964 Radostovo, Drahichyn District, Belarusian SSR |
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | Kharkov Guards Higher Tank Command School (1985) Higher Courses of the KGB (1992) Academy of Public Administration in Belarus (2011) |
Biography
editVakulchik was born on June 19, 1964, in Radostovo, Drahichyn District, Brest Region. His father, Pavel Denisovich Vakulchik, worked as the director of the collective farm "Red Partisan" (1971-1986). His mother, Maria Alekseevna, worked as a village teacher and director of a school in the village of Lipniki. He is the oldest brother of his sister Galina and his brother Sergey.
Education and career
editVakulchik graduated from Radostovskaya high school. In 1985 he graduated from the Kharkov Guards Higher Tank Command School. In 1992 he graduated from the Higher courses of military counterintelligence of the SSCRB, and in 2011 the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus.
From 1985 to 1991 he served in the Armed Forces of the USSR.
From 1991 to 2008 he served in the state security bodies of the Republic of Belarus. He started his career in the Brest border detachment. He was the head of the SSCRB military counterintelligence department in the border troops.
Since May 2008 Vakulchik served as Head of the Operational Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus.[citation needed]
On October 24, 2011, he was appointed as chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus.[1][2]
On November 16, 2012, he was appointed chairman of the KGB.[3]
From March 7, 2013[4] to May 16, 2017,[5] he headed the Belarusian Biathlon Federation, of which he is currently the chairman of the supervisory board.
2020 Belarus protests
editOn August 31, 2020, Vakulchik was included in the list of persons who were imposed an indefinite ban on entering Latvia, a five-year ban on entering Estonia and a ban on entering Lithuania due to the fact that “by his actions he organized and supported the falsification of the presidential elections on August 9 and subsequently violated suppression of protests", which have not been recognized by the Baltic states.[6][7][8]
On September 3, 2020, he was released from the post of the chairman of the KGB and appointed as Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus.[9] The presidential decree of September 3, No. 329, in label 3 says: "To assign General-tenant Valery Pavlovich Vakulchik to the State Secretariat of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus, leaving him in the state security personnel of the Republic of Belarus". He was released from those duties on October 29, 2020, and on the same day he was appointed Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus as Inspector for the Brest Region.[10][11]
On 31 August 2020, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia introduced personal sanctions against Vakulchik and other Belarusian officials due to the fact that they "organized and supported the falsification of the presidential elections in Belarus, and supported the violent suppression of peaceful protests".[12][13]
On October 2, 2020, Vakulchik was banned from entering the European Union.[14] He was also sanctioned by the United Kingdom,[15] Switzerland,[16] and Canada.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Национальный правовой Интернет-портал Республики Беларусь". pravo.by. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ "Президент Республики Беларусь 24 октября рассмотрел кадровые вопросы". www.pravo.by. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
- ^ "Events | The Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus". president.gov.by. Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ "Новый председатель КГБ Вакульчик возглавил Федерацию биатлона". sport.tut.by. March 7, 2013. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Белорусскую федерацию биатлона вместо председателя КГБ возглавил бывший наставник сборной". sport.tut.by. May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Baltic States Issue Entry Ban on President Lukashenko and 29 Other Belarusian Officials". SchengenVisaInfo.com. September 3, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Baltic States Ban 30 Belarusian Officials from Entering Territories Amid Rigged Election and Violence". September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Foreign minister puts 30 Belarusian citizens on list of persons undesirable in Latvia". baltictimes.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ "Vakulchik appointed State Secretary of Belarus' Security Council". eng.belta.by. September 3, 2020. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Balmforth, Tom (October 29, 2020). "Lukashenko announces security shake-up". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Lukashenko urges to protect workers that want to work". eng.belta.by. October 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Вступили в силу санкции ЕС против Белоруссии". Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ "Латвія, Літва і Эстонія ўключылі Лукашэнку і яшчэ 29 чыноўнікаў ў спіс пэрсон нон-грата. ПОЎНЫ СЬПІС". Archived from the original on 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ "Council implementing regulation (EU) 2020/1387 of 2 October 2020 implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus". Official Journal of the European Union. 2020-10-02. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- ^ "Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK" (PDF). Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation HM Treasury. 2021-06-25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ "Searching for subjects of sanctions". Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ "Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List". Global Affairs Canada. 2015-10-19. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-06-29.