He became foreign minister for the first time from 17 April 1998 until 29 September 2000. He later broke with President Leonid Kuchma, and became a foreign relations adviser to Viktor Yushchenko, the main opposition candidate in the 2004 presidential elections. After Ukraine's Orange Revolution, Tarasyuk became foreign minister again on 4 February 2005, and served in the Cabinets of Yulia Tymoshenko, Yuriy Yekhanurov, and Viktor Yanukovych. Tarasyuk favors Ukrainian integration with the European Union.