# Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство внутрішніх справ України, romanized: Ministerstvo vnutrishnikh sprav Ukrainy, MVS) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. The ministry carries out state policy for the protection of rights and liberties of citizens, investigates unlawful acts against the interest of society and state, fights crime, provides civil order, ensures civil security and traffic safety, and guarantees the security and protection of important individuals. It is a centralised agency headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry works closely with the office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. It oversees the National Police of Ukraine (police service), National Guard of Ukraine (gendarmerie), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (civil defense), State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (and its subordinate the Ukrainian Sea Guard) and the State Migration Service (customs service).
Formerly, the ministry directly controlled the Ukrainian national law enforcement agency, termed the militsiya (Ukrainian: міліція, Russian: милиция). This changed in July 2015, in the aftermath of Euromaidan, with the introduction of reforms by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko to reduce corruption, whereby the militsiya was replaced with the National Police. Ukraine's militsiya was widely regarded as corrupt, and it had received accusations of torture and ill-treatment. The State Emergency Service was transferred under the jurisdiction of the ministry since 2014.

## History
### Name

* People's Committee of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1919–1930, regional autonomous agency)
* State Political Directorate of the Ukrainian SSR (1930–1934, part of the Joint State Political Directorate of USSR)
* People's Committee of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1934–1946, part of the People's Committee of Internal Affairs of USSR)
* Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1946–1991, part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of USSR)
* Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (since 1991, a government agency of the independent Ukraine)

### History of Militsiya
## Ministerial institutions

* Central office (in Kyiv)

### Sub-departments (central offices of executive authority)

* National Guard of Ukraine
* National Police of Ukraine
* Special Tasks Patrol Police
* State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
** Ukrainian Sea Guard
* State Emergency Service of Ukraine
* State Migration Service of Ukraine

### Supporting institutions
#### Medical

* Central hospital (in Kyiv)
* Hospital of Rehabilitative Treatment (in Kyiv)
* Military-medical commissions

#### Educational

* National Academy of Internal Affairs
* National Academy of National Guard of Ukraine
* Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs
* Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs
* Didorenko State University of Internal Affairs of Luhansk
* Lviv State University of Internal Affairs
* Odesa State University of Internal Affairs
* Donetsk Justice Institute

## Ministers of Internal Affairs

The minister of internal affairs is in charge of the ministry. Prior to the 2015 police reforms, the minister was recognized as head of the militsiya. Many former ministers previously had experience with serving in the police, and were, prior to taking up the ministerial post, generals of the militsiya. Typically, the minister was afforded the rank of Colonel-General of the militsiya upon taking up his post in the Ukrainian government. Yuriy Lutsenko and Vasyl Tsushko are the only former holders of this office who had never served in any law enforcement agency.
List of ministers of internal affairs of Ukraine :
| # | Name | From | Until | President | Notes |
| 1 | Andriy Vasylyshyn | 24 August 1991 | 21 July 1994 | Leonid Kravchuk | First post-independence minister |
| 2 | Volodymyr Radchenko | 28 July 1994 | 3 July 1995 | Leonid Kuchma | Acting July 21–28, 1994 |
| 3 | Yuriy Kravchenko | 3 July 1995 | 26 March 2001 | Leonid Kuchma | Involved in 'Eagles of Kravchenko' case |
| 4 | Yuriy Smirnov | 26 March 2001 | 27 August 2003 | Leonid Kuchma | |
| 5 | Mykola Bilokon | 27 August 2003 | 3 February 2005 | Leonid Kuchma | |
| 6 | Yuriy Lutsenko | 4 February 2005 | 1 December 2006 | Viktor Yushchenko | First civilian minister |
| 7 | Vasyl Tsushko | 1 December 2006 | 18 December 2007 | Viktor Yushchenko | First minister never directly subordinate to the president |
| 8 | Yuriy Lutsenko | 18 December 2007 | 28 January 2010 | Viktor Yushchenko | Acting January 28-March 11, 2010 In May 2009 first deputy (Interior) Minister Mykhailo Kliuyev served as acting Minister during a seven-day investigation. After that Lutsenko resumed the post. |
| - | Mykhailo Kliuyev | 29 January 2010 | 11 March 2010 | Viktor Yushchenko | Acting January 28-March 11, 2010 In May 2009 first deputy (Interior) Minister Mykhailo Kliuyev served as acting Minister during a seven-day investigation. After that Lutsenko resumed the post. |
| 9 | Anatoliy Mohyliov | 11 March 2010 | 7 November 2011 | Viktor Yanukovych | First post-Orange Revolution minister |
| 10 | Vitaliy Zakharchenko | 7 November 2011 | 21 February 2014 | Viktor Yanukovych | Former head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine |
| - | Arsen Avakov (acting) | 22 February 2014 | 27 February 2014 | Oleksandr Turchynov (acting) | |
| 11 | Arsen Avakov | 27 February 2014 | 15 July 2021 | Oleksandr Turchynov (acting), Petro Poroshenko, Volodymyr Zelensky | |
| 12 | Denys Monastyrsky | 16 July 2021 | 18 January 2023 | Volodymyr Zelensky | Term ended prematurely after a helicopter transporting himself and the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs crashed, killing both Monastyrsky and his First Deputy, Yevhen Yenin, among others. |
| - | Ihor Klymenko (acting) | 18 January 2023 | 7 February 2023 | Volodymyr Zelensky | Former head of National Police of Ukraine; replaced Denys Monastyrsky after his premature death. |
| 13 | Ihor Klymenko | 7 February 2023 | Incumbent | Volodymyr Zelensky | Former head of National Police of Ukraine; replaced Denys Monastyrsky after his premature death. |
The minister of Internal Affairs is responsible directly to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, to the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and ultimately the President of Ukraine. His office is located in Kyiv's Pechersk District.