# National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; Ukrainian: Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, romanized: Rada natsionalnoyi bezpeky i oboroni Ukrayiny, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense.
It is a state agency tasked with developing and coordinating a policy of national security on domestic and international matters in advising the President of Ukraine (currently Volodymyr Zelensky). All the sessions of the council take place in the Presidential Administration Building. The agency's membership is determined by the President, but it must include the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Defense, Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As of December 2024, the council is headed by secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who replaced Oleksiy Danilov on 26 March 2024.

## Current composition

As of March 2024, the National Security and Defence Council consists of the following members:
| Name | Title |
| Volodymyr Zelenskyy | President of Ukraine and Chairman of the NSDC |
| Oleksandr Lytvynenko | Secretary of the NSDC |
| Denys Shmyhal | Prime Minister of Ukraine |
| Rustem Umerov | Minister of Defense |
| Andrii Sybiha | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Serhiy Marchenko | Minister of Finance |
| Ihor Klymenko | Minister of Internal Affairs |
| Herman Halushchenko | Minister of Energy |
| Yulia Laputina | Minister for Veterans Affairs |
| Oleksandr Syrsky | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Vasyl Malyuk | Head of the Ukrainian Security Service |
| Andriy Kostin | Prosecutor General of Ukraine |
| Andriy Yermak | Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine |
| Anatoliy Zahorodniy | President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
| Oleksandr Lyvtynenko | Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine |
| Oleksandr Kamyshin | Minister for Strategic Industries |
| Yulia Svyrydenko | First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy |
| Ruslan Stefanchuk | Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada |
| Olha Stefanishyna | Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine |
| Mykhailo Fedorov | Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation |
| Ihor Cherkaskyy [uk] | Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine |
| Andriy Pyshnyi | Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine |

## History
### Defense Council

The Defense Council was created by the provision of Supreme Council of Ukraine #1658-12 on October 11, 1991. The Defense Council was defined as the highest state body of collegiate governing on matters of defense and security of Ukraine with following goals:
* Protecting sovereignty
* Constitutional order
* Territorial integrity and inviolability of the republic
* Developing strategies and continuous improvement of policy in sphere of defense and state security
* Comprehensive scientific assessment of the military threat nature
* Determining position toward modern warfare
* Effective control over the execution of the tasks of the state and its institutions keeping defense capabilities of Ukraine at the level of defense sufficiency
On January 23, 1992, the President of Ukraine appointed Myroslav Vitovsky as a secretary of the Defense Council, a position which Vitovsky held until November 30, 1995.

#### Initial composition

* Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine
* Prime Minister of Ukraine
* Head of commission of the Supreme Council of Ukraine on issues of defense and state security of Ukraine
* State Minister on issues of defense, national security and emergency situations in Ukraine
* State Minister on issues of defense complex and conversion of Ukraine
* Minister of Defense of Ukraine
* Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
* Director of the Security Service of Ukraine
* Commander of Border Troops of Ukraine
* Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine
* Chief of Staff of the Civil defense of Ukraine
After the establishment and elections of the President of Ukraine the composition of the council was reformed on April 9, 1992, by a provision of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament).
* President of Ukraine
* Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine
* Prime Minister of Ukraine
* First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine
* Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
* Minister of Defense of Ukraine
* Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
* Minister of Machine-building, Military-Industrial Complex and Conversion of Ukraine
* Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine
* Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine
* Commander of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine

### National Security Council

The Council was originally created under temporary provision on July 3, 1992, as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President Leonid Kuchma in 1994. The council was headed by a Presidential adviser in national security matters:
* July 1, 1992 - April 19, 1993 Volodymyr Selivanov (Adviser of the President of Ukraine on national security matters - Secretary of National Security Council)
** before November 19, 1992 as State adviser of Ukraine on national security matters
* December 1, 1993 - August 5, 1994 Valeriy Kartavtsev (Secretary of National Security Council)
* August 5, 1994 - November 10, 1999 Volodymyr Horbulin (Secretary of National Security Council)
** since October 17, 1994 as Secretary of National Security Council - Adviser of the President of Ukraine on national security matters
On August 23, 1994, the President of Ukraine adopted new provision for the Council. After the adaptation of the Constitution of Ukraine on June 28, 1996, the provisions of the council (National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine) were outlined in the Article 107. Thus, the National Security Council was merged with the already existing Defense Council of Ukraine and was adapted by the Presidential edict on August 30, 1996.
According to former secretary Andriy Klyuyev, 460 people worked at the Council in 2010, while in April 2012 the number of employees was 90. President Viktor Yanukovych limited the number of employees of the Council to 180 on 9 April 2012.
The agency's membership is determined by the President, but it must include the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Defense, Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The head of the council is the President of Ukraine assisted by the secretary whom they are allowed to appoint. In the absence of existing President of Ukraine, such as between elections, the acting chairman of the council is the Prime Minister. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada is not a member of the council, but they are allowed to participate in the meetings. Members of the council may also be other chairmen of government bodies of the executive branch. Any other individual is only allowed by special invitation from the Chairman of the Council.
If the President resigns, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada becomes the acting head of the National Security and Defense Council.

## Secretaries since 1994

| No. | Name | Tenure |
| 1 | Volodymyr Horbulin | August 30, 1994 — November 10, 1999 |
| 2 | Yevhen Marchuk | November 10, 1999 — June 25, 2003 |
| 3 | Volodymyr Radchenko | September 2, 2003 — January 20, 2005 |
| 4 | Petro Poroshenko | February 8, 2005 — September 8, 2005 |
| 5 | Anatoliy Kinakh | September 27, 2005 — May 16, 2006 |
| act. | Volodymyr Horbulin | May 24, 2006 — October 10, 2006 |
| 6 | Vitaliy Haiduk | October 10, 2006 — May 12, 2007 |
| 7 | Ivan Plyushch | May 12, 2007 — November 26, 2007 |
| 8 | Raisa Bogatyrova | December 24, 2007 — February 14, 2012 |
| 9 | Andriy Klyuyev | February 14, 2012 — January 24, 2014 |
| 10 | Andriy Parubiy | February 27, 2014 — August 7, 2014 |
| 11 | Oleksandr Turchynov | December 16, 2014 — May 19, 2019 |
| 12 | Oleksandr Danylyuk | May 28, 2019 — September 27, 2019 |
| 13 | Oleksiy Danilov | October 3, 2019 — March 26, 2024 |
| 14 | Oleksandr Lytvynenko | March 26, 2024 — present |