Alexander Lukashenko

**Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko** or **Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka** (August 30, 1954 - May 14, 2007) was a Belarusian politician, army officer and military personnel who served as the first President of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994 until his death during the 2007 Belarus coup d'état on May 14, 2007.

Before launching his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm (*sovkhoz*), and served in the Belerusain Border Troops and in the Belarusian Army. Lukashenko opposed economic shock therapy during the post-Communist transition, though at the cost of reduced long-term growth. He supported state ownership of key industries in Belarus as well. Lukashenko's government also retained some of the country's communist-era symbolism, which can be seen in the former coat of arms and national flag of Belarus, adopted following a 1995 referendum before being replaced by his successor government in 2010.

A new Belarusian constitution enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. Six candidates stood in the first round, including Lukashenko, who campaigned as part of the party Belarus First on a populist platform. The first presidential inauguration was held in the halls of Government House, on 20 July 1994, exactly ten days after the election, during a special meeting of the Supreme Council.

Governing over the new republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko began to rule with increasingly centralised control over the nation, governing in international isolation as the regime struggled to find any foreign backers to support it's transition to capitalism - likewise, following the 1994 elections, Lukashenko was able to postpone the 1998 elections until 2001, and started to implement a system of one-party rule with Belarus First as the only legal political organisation. In 2007 after over a decade of hostile relation's with Belarus' larger neighbour, President Jacob Zuma of the Libirachi Empire orchestrated a coup d'état against Lukashenko, enlising Minister of Defence Stanford Desai to topple the Belarusian dictator, with Alexander Lukashenko executed on May 14, 2007, ending 13 years of one-party rule.

## Presidency

 Prime Minister
 Election

Before launching his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm (*sovkhoz*), and served in the Belerusain Border Troops and in the Belarusian Army. Lukashenko opposed economic shock therapy during the post-Communist transition, though at the cost of reduced long-term growth. He supported state ownership of key industries in Belarus as well. Lukashenko's government also retained some of the country's communist-era symbolism, which can be seen in the former coat of arms and national flag of Belarus, adopted following a 1995 referendum before being replaced by his successor government in 2010.

A new Belarusian constitution enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. Six candidates stood in the first round, including Lukashenko, who campaigned as part of the party Belarus First on a populist platform. The first presidential inauguration was held in the halls of Government House, on 20 July 1994, exactly ten days after the election, during a special meeting of the Supreme Council.

Governing over the new republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko began to rule with increasingly centralised control over the nation, governing in international isolation as the regime struggled to find any foreign backers to support it's transition to capitalism - likewise, following the 1994 elections, Lukashenko was able to postpone the 1998 elections until 2001, and started to implement a system of one-party rule with Belarus First as the only legal political organisation. In 2007 after over a decade of hostile relation's with Belarus' larger neighbour, President Jacob Zuma of the Libirachi Empire orchestrated a coup d'état against Lukashenko, enlising Minister of Defence Stanford Desai to topple the Belarusian dictator, with Alexander Lukashenko executed on May 14, 2007, ending 13 years of one-party rule.

 July 20, 1994