Svitlana Zalishchuk

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Zalishchuk lost reelection as an independent candidate in a single-seat constituency in Cherkasy Oblast. She is a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk.

On 28 February 2019 Zalishchuk voluntarily left the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction.

On 7 June 2019 Zalishchuk stated she wanted to take part in the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election as an independent candidate in a constituency. In the election she lost reelection as an independent candidate in a single-seat constituency in Cherkasy Oblast.

Сoordinated one hundred prominent Ukrainian journalists to campaign against censorship, promote media reforms, and fight for journalists’ rights, 2010 – 2014.

Svitlana Zalishchuk: "Mister Medvedev, together with President Putin you’ve turned to the page of war, aggression and instability in Europe. Basically you’ve started killing in Georgia, then in Ukraine and now in Syria. I have a question for you: Why don’t you approve the mandate of the United Nations to investigate MH17 as the precondition to restore the trust that you have mentioned in your speech. As well as: Why don’t you ratify the Rome Statute while acknowledging the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court as the precondition for this international dialogue that you have mentioned in your speech. Or do you think that you are going to avoid the international justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity? Thank you". [16]

Svitlana Zalishchuk Member of the Parliamentary Caucus ‘Equal Opportunities’ devoted to gender issues. [3]

Zalishchuk is a co-founder and member of the Inter-faction Parliamentary Caucus ‘Eurooptimists’ and ‘Anticorruption Platform’ and the founder of the Open Parliament platform in Ukraine as a part of the Open Government Partnership. [4]

In particular, as Executive Director of ‘Centre UA’, coordinated the largest (in Ukrainian and regional history) and most influential Facebook page Euromaidan, which played a crucial role in the revolution: content included transformative campaigning and coordination of strategic messaging to a daily audience of up to 4 million readers, 2013-2014.

Co-founder and Executive Director of the Kyiv-based ‘Centre of United Actions’ NGO [7]

International reporter at the ‘Fifth TV-Channel’, Ukraine, 2003-2005

for various Ukrainian media and social media, including newsprint; ‘Novoe Vriemia’ [12], Ukrainska Pravda [13], Delovaya Stolitsa [14], Volunteer magazine

Editor-in-Chief of the National student Magazine ‘World of Communication’, 2001-2003

Named as a ‘bravest’ women of the Munich Security Conference by German Bild Newspaper in 2016

On July 21, 2018, Svitlana Zalishchuk married the British lawyer (QC) Wayne Jordash.

Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE), January 2015-January 2017

Member of the joint Ukraine-EU Parliamentary Committee on Association Agreement between Ukraine and European Union, January 2015-January 2017

In August 2016 she, Serhiy Leshchenko and Mustafa Nayyem (also) from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc joined to Democratic Alliance. From Autumn 2015 until June 2016 they had been part of an attempt to form a political party around then Governor of Odessa Oblast Mikheil Saakashvili with members of the parliamentary group Interfactional Union "Eurooptimists", Democratic Alliance and possibly Self Reliance until this projection collapsed in June 2016.

Awarded Anna Lindh Prize 2016, (after former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden), international award for human rights defenders: a woman or young person with "the courage to fight indifference, prejudice, oppression and injustices in order to promote a good life for all people in an environment marked by respect for human rights" (previous winners include Amira Hass and Madeleine Albright)

In 2015 Svitlana Zalishchuk was one of the first two MPs in Ukraine who publicly joined LGBT pride, along with Serhiy Leshchenko. [5]

Recognized as one of the top-100 most influential women in Ukraine by Focus Magazine and Novoe Vriemia Magazine in 2015, 2016 and 2017

Member of Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Ukraine, November 2014 – present. Placed on 18th position on the party list of Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Zalishchuk was elected to the 8th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada during the 2014 parliamentary election. Gradually she began to criticize the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) more and more and stopped voting in sync with it. According to deputy head of the PPB faction Oleksiy Honcharenko by February 2019 Zalishchuk had not attended PPB faction meetings for several years. At the presidential election in March 2019, Zalishchuk is campaigning for Anatoliy Hrytsenko. [2]

Member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy, founded by National Endowment for Democracy (Washington DC), (July 2014 – present)

That after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity united more than 50 NGOs and several hundreds experts and activists for building and promotion of democratic reforms in Ukraine. Dozens of the reformist draft laws elaborated by RPR were adopted by the parliament in 2014.

Awarded John Smith Fellowship Programme, June–July 2008

Awarded Stanford, Draper Hills Summer Fellowship, USA, July–August 2011

Zalishchuk is the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friendship group between Ukraine and United Kingdom and a member of the Parliamentary Friendship groups between Ukraine – Norway and Ukraine – Georgia.

Prominent leader of the EuroMaidan events in Ukraine that started in 2013 and led to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and the beginning of democratic reform

Press-officer to the Deputy Prime Minister on European Integration in Ukraine, July–September 2005

Devoted to parliamentary elections in Ukraine, September–October 2012

Recognized as one of the emerging leaders of Ukraine in 2013 by Washington based, US-Ukraine Foundation in Project ‘40 under 40 Ukrainians’

CHESNO united hundreds of NGOs across Ukraine, aimed at imposing anticorruption and integrity processes upon the public sector, including Ukrainian parliamentarians and public servants. Examples included legislative reform to ensure the integrity of the voting in the Parliament and also electronic declarations of assets for public servants, 2011-2014.

Focused on media and anticorruption reforms, 2009-2014

Expert lecturer and featured speaker, 2009 – present

Spokesperson to the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine and Head of the Department of Information in the Main Information Service in the Administration of the President of Ukraine, September 2005-October 2006

Deputy Chief of Staff to the Advisor of the President on European and Euro-Atlantic integration, 2006-2009

The only independent TV-Channel during Orange Revolution. In 2004, journalists initiated nationwide journalist movement against censorship.

Journalist for the First National Radio Channel in Ukraine, 2003

Svitlana Zalishchuk (Ukrainian: Світлана Заліщук , born 24 October 1982) is a politician, public leader, journalist, and human rights campaigner and former member of Ukrainian Parliament (member of the Committee for Foreign Affairs).