Volodymyr Borysovych Groysman (Ukrainian: Володимир Борисович Гройсман, pronounced [woloˈdɪmɪr boˈrɪsowɪdʒ ˈɦrɔjsmɐn]; born 20 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019.
Born in Vinnytsia, Groysman was its mayor from 2006 to 2014 and served as Vice-President of the Association of Ukrainian Cities on Housing and Communal Services (2010–2014). He briefly served as acting prime minister and Minister of Regional Development, Construction, and Communal Services in 2014 and later served as Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada until 2016, elected through the Petro Poroshenko Bloc list.
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Biography
Groysman was born into a Jewish family in Vinnytsia, then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Soviet Union), on 20 January 1978.
In 1994, Groysman graduated from Vinnytsia Secondary School No. 35.
At 14, he began working as a locksmith at the Shkolyar (Schoolboy) cooperative, which had been founded by his father, Boris Isaakovich Groysman. In August 1994, aged 16, he graduated from school and was appointed as commercial director of the private small enterprise OKO. Three months later he began work as commercial director of the Vinnytsia market enterprise Yunist, which was his father's.
In 1999, Groysman graduated from the Vinnytsia Institute of Regional Economy and Management with a junior specialist degree in law.
In 2003, he graduated from the private higher education institution Interregional Academy of Personnel Management with a degree in law. In February 2010, he completed studies at the National Academy of Public Administration of the President of Ukraine, earning a master’s degree in Public Development Management with a focus on regional and local governance.
Career
Mayor of Vinnytsia
In 2002, at 24, he won a seat in the Vinnytsia City Council in majoritarian district No. 29, becoming the youngest council member. In November 2005, he was elected Secretary of the Vinnytsia City Council and Acting Mayor of Vinnytsia. In March 2006, he won the mayoral election.
In the next 2010 election, Groysman was nominated by the political party Conscience of Ukraine and re-elected with substantial support, winning 77.8% of the vote.
As mayor, Groysman implemented a street lighting program, started in 2002, aimed at energy conservation and maximizing city lighting. During his first term, he initiated extensive road repairs on main and secondary streets. In 2006, he regulated unorganized street trade that blocked sidewalks.
In December 2006, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Switzerland and Ukraine, Groysman promoted cooperation between Vinnytsia and Zurich. From 2007 to 2011, Vinnytsia received 116 decommissioned Zurich trams from the late 1950s and 1960s, which were repaired and came with warranties. Later, free Wi-Fi was installed on these trams. In 2012, he led reforms of the city’s transportation system, reducing the number of minibuses. In 2013, the city purchased 30 buses and 40 trolleybuses, and completed the tram line on Vysenka.
In addition to foreign support, local resources were used for city development. Through co-financing, Vinnytsia installed water supply and sewage systems, repaired roads in residential areas, and maintained a landfill in Stadnytsia.
During Groysman’s tenure as mayor, Vinnytsia abolished district divisions and district councils. In 2008, the city launched the first "Transparent Office" to provide administrative services to the public. This system, later expanded across Ukraine, served as a model. The central bridge in Vinnytsia was also repaired.
Between 2007 and 2013, Groysman attracted over 736 million UAH in external investments to Vinnytsia. For the first time under his administration, Vinnytsia was recognized as the best regional city to live in Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
On 27 February 2014, Groysman was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Regional Development, Construction, and Communal Services at the invitation of Prime Minister Yatsenyuk. His primary focus was on decentralization and local governance reform, becoming an advocate and architect of the decentralization reform that began on 1 April 2014.
He also coordinated reforms of state control agencies. In the summer and fall of 2014, he headed the Government Anti-Crisis Energy Headquarters, the State Commission for investigating the MH17 downing (from 17 July 2014), coordinated efforts for internally displaced persons and managed reconstruction in the Donbas region, working with international donors.
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
Groysman was elected to the Verkhovna Rada as a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. On 27 November 2014, he was elected Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and on 15 December 2014, he was appointed to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
Groysman initiated the Legislative Reform Support Plan, which outlined tasks for parliament members for one or two quarters. According to Groysman, the plan’s goal was to establish legislative guidelines for reforms, assign responsibilities for drafting bills, and set time frames for legislative support of reforms.
In March 2015, he supported a bill banning Russian television series. During the 2016 government crisis, he was considered a potential candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine from the ruling faction.
In July 2015, Groysman initiated parliamentary reform. Together with Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament. This document launched a Needs Assessment Mission, led by former European Parliament President Pat Cox, which resulted in a proposal for reforming the Ukrainian parliament.
During "Ukrainian Week" in Brussels in 2016, a roadmap for internal reform and strengthening the institutional capacity of the Verkhovna Rada was approved. Unfortunately, the reform was not implemented due to a lack of support from President Petro Poroshenko. That same year, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution recognizing the European Parliament Mission’s recommendations as a basis for internal reform.
After the leadership change in the Verkhovna Rada in 2016, the reform's implementation slowed. However, the reform initiated by Groysman continued in the format of the Jean Monnet Dialogues and a mediation process involving joint efforts from the Ukrainian and European parliaments to develop political dialogue and consensus among political parties.
Prime Minister of Ukraine
On 14 April 2016, Groysman was appointed Prime Minister of Ukraine, receiving support from 257 deputies of the BPP, People's Front, Revival, and People's Will factions. During his early months as Prime Minister, Groysman was often described by journalists as lacking independence and closely connected to President Petro Poroshenko. However, over time, he began to distance himself from Poroshenko and criticize him.
As Prime Minister, he prioritized preparing for large-scale decentralization reform, as well as reforms in healthcare, infrastructure, and transport. Following his appointment, the BBC reported that critics considered him an "ally of the president" and a "product of the old order," rather than a leader who would push for necessary changes.
At the end of April, the government set a single gas price for households and industrial consumers, which raised the cost for households to UAH 6,900 per 1,000 m³. This decision aimed to establish market prices for gas, with the goal of restoring Ukrainian gas production and achieving gas independence by 2020.
During the first 100 days of Groysman’s government, there was partial stabilization of the political and economic situation. One of the government's main priorities was road repairs, with a planned increase in road repair funding from UAH 4 billion to UAH 19 billion. In the first 100 days, Groysman met with European Council President Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and other Western political leaders.
On 8 June Groysman stated that nearly 54 billion UAH had been allocated to the general fund of local budgets over five months, adding that this amount exceeded the figure for the same period by 17 billion UAH. By 9 December he stated that local budgets had increased by 60% (UAH 44 billion) compared to the previous year, and that during the reform period in Ukraine, 184 consolidated territorial communities were established. By 2017, UAH 9 billion was earmarked for decentralization reforms.
On 19 October, Groysman claimed he had managed to halt the economic decline and initiate economic recovery, aiming to accelerate this growth.
Assessment of activities
According to a survey by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Centre, in 2016, Groysman ranked second in the Politician of the Year rating after President Poroshenko.
As of the end of May 2019, the "Word and Deed" website recorded 614 promises made by Groysman, of which he fulfilled 319, did not fulfill 149, and 146 were "in progress." His overall responsibility level was 52%.
According to an all-Ukrainian poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in February 2019, Volodymyr Groysman led the list of those whom Ukrainians wanted to see as prime minister after the presidential elections on 31 March 2019, but by May of that year, he was in fourth place (8.8%) according to a study by the Rating group.
85.5% of experts surveyed by the Situation Modeling Agency believed that the country's situation improved during Groysman’s government.
In July 2019, according to a poll by the "Rating" sociological group, nearly 30% of Ukrainians approved of Groysman's performance as prime minister (compared to 17% in March 2018); however, more than 60% expressed dissatisfaction.
Disagreements with Poroshenko
Reports of disagreements between Groysman and Poroshenko emerged after the vote for Groysman’s government in 2016.
Analysts indicated that the rift was deepening, and in 2018, tensions began to spill into the public sphere.
During the 2019 presidential elections, Groysman openly supported Poroshenko's candidacy, but before the same year’s parliamentary elections, he declined to lead the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko and later called it an "old party."
The former prime minister stated that he had "moral and value disagreements" with the former president for all three years, had different views on economic development, and that they were "not on the same path."
According to Groysman, tensions arose during the 2015 local elections. In 2016, he led the government as a compromise figure invited by the former prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, rather than as "Poroshenko’s man." Groysman also claimed that Poroshenko, despite his public support, actually opposed the government on several reforms, including decentralization, privatization, parliamentary reform, healthcare, support for farming, business deregulation, and other management areas. In response, Poroshenko stated that Groysman's decision to participate in the parliamentary elections as a separate team was political suicide, but added that he held no grudges against him, although he did not approve of his choice.
Victory in Vinnytsia
Since 2014, Groysman focused on national politics and occasionally appeared in public projects in Vinnytsia, including initiating the "Stop-Virus" fund to support and promote medical, preventive, and informational efforts to counter the spread of coronavirus.
Serhiy Morgunov, who became acting mayor in 2014 as Groysman's successor and team member, was elected mayor in the 2015 local elections. Under Morgunov's leadership, Vinnytsia has held the position of the most comfortable city in Ukraine since 2015 (according to research by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in collaboration with the Rating sociological group).
In the 2020 local elections, "Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy" won an absolute majority in the Vinnytsia City Council, securing 34 out of 54 seats, and also achieved a regional victory, winning 40 out of 84 seats in the Vinnytsia Oblast Council. In the first round of the mayoral election, Morgunov, the candidate from "Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy" and a long-time ally of the former prime minister, was re-elected with a significant lead, receiving 65.93% of the vote. Vyacheslav Sokolovyi, who also ran under "Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy," assumed the leadership of the Vinnytsia Oblast Council. Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Groysman and his party paused political activities to focus on supporting the military, with Groysman in 2022 leading the Interregional Humanitarian Coordination Headquarters, which operates in two areas: aiding Ukrainian Armed Forces units and supporting the children of servicemembers and internally displaced persons.
Enemy of Russia
In April 2024, Russia's Investigative Committee accused Groysman, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, and former Minister of Information Policy Yuriy Stets of supporting the start of the War in Donbas while holding high government positions.
In May, Russia announced Groysman was wanted for "use of prohibited means and methods of warfare."
In early July, the Basmanny District Court in Moscow issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Groysman, along with Klimkin, former Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak, and the commander of "Zakhid" Ihor Dovhan.
Awards
2011: Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, for merit in the development of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation Groysman returned this award to Poland in 2026 in solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
2012: Order of Merit of 2nd degree, for a significant personal contribution to state-building, socio-economic, scientific-technical, cultural, and educational development in Ukraine, notable professional achievements, and high professionalism.
2008: Order of Merit of 3rd degree, for a significant personal contribution to the development of Ukraine’s constitutional foundations, years of conscientious work, high professionalism, and in honor of Ukraine’s Constitution Day.
Family
Groysman is married to Olena and has two daughters and a son. His father, Borys Isakovych Groysman, who was a factory foreman in Soviet times and after 1990 a businessman, was a deputy in the Vinnytsia City Council for three terms (2002–2006, 2010–2015, and since 2015). His mother, Zhanna Izrailyvna (1950–2000), was a teacher.
In popular culture
A response from Tesla to Groysman's proposal to invest in projects in Ukraine gained significant popularity online. Later, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine stated that it had not received a response from Elon Musk's corporation and declared the letter image fake.