Serhiy Tihipko

Serhiy Tihipko
Born	Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko (1960-02-13) February 13, 1960 Drăgănești, Sîngerei, Moldavian SSR
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, politician
Years active	1984–present
Known for	Founder of TAS Group; Minister of Economics (2000); Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (2002–2004); Vice Prime Minister; Minister of Social Policy; candidate in 2010 and 2014 Ukrainian presidential elections

Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko (; born 13 February 1960) is a prominent Ukrainian entrepreneur and political figure, recognized for establishing the TAS Group conglomerate in 1998. He held the position of Minister of Economics in 2000 and served as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine between 2002 and 2004. Tihipko was a candidate in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election without success and secured fifth place with 5.23% of votes in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. Additionally, he has occupied roles such as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Social Policy.

Early life

Born on 13 February 1960 in the village of Drăgănești, Sîngerei, located in the Lazovskiy district of the Moldavian SSR, Tihipko comes from a Ukrainian family that had moved from Podolia back in 1902. His father, a veteran of World War II, passed away when Serhiy was ten years old, while his mother practiced as a nurse in their village. He has two siblings: an older brother by six years and a younger brother by two.

Tihipko spent his childhood near Chișinau before relocating to Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, at age seventeen after completing secondary education.

Education, military service, and the Komsomol

In 1982, Tihipko earned an engineering-metallurgy degree from the Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute. He then fulfilled military service duties within a Soviet tank regiment from 1982 until 1984.

Between 1984 and 1986, he advanced through leadership positions at the Dnipropetrovsk Mechanical-Metallurgical Technical Secondary School while also rising through ranks in the Komsomol, the Communist Party’s youth organization. From 1986 to 1989, he was First Secretary of the Dnipropetrovsk Komsomol regional branch, managing nearly half a million members, becoming its first leader elected by popular vote in 1989. Subsequently, from 1989 to 1991, he served as First Secretary of the Dnipropetrovsk regional committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League.

Banking (1991–1997)

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and ensuing political transformations, Tihipko transitioned from political roles to entrepreneurship by entering Ukraine’s nascent private banking industry—a calculated decision amid early post-Soviet economic reforms. From 1991 to 1992, he was Deputy Chairman at Dnipro Bank. He then assumed leadership as Chairman of the Board at Privatbank, overseeing its evolution from a modest regional institution into one of Eastern Europe’s largest private banks by 1997.

Political career (1994, onwards)

In 1994, Tihipko acted as an external advisor on monetary policy to President Leonid Kuchma, contributing to preparations for launching Ukraine’s national currency, the Hryvnia, in 1996. To eliminate any conflicts of interest, he relinquished his ownership stakes in Privatbank.

He held the office of Minister of Economics between 1997 and 1999. In June 2000, Tihipko resigned from the Yushchenko Government to contest a parliamentary by-election, winning a seat representing constituency #36 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. By November that year, he assumed leadership of Labour Ukraine. During the 2002 parliamentary elections, Labour Ukraine allied with For United Ukraine, securing his re-election. Between 2002 and 2004, he served as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Tihipko led Viktor Yanukovych’s presidential campaign in 2004. Following that election cycle, he stepped down as Labour Ukraine’s head in April 2005 to focus on developing a banking enterprise which he later sold to Swedbank group for nearly $1 billion. As an associate of former president Leonid Kuchma, some analysts speculate Kuchma may have favored Tihipko over Yanukovych during the 2004 elections; however, Yanukovych maintained stronger popular support.

In 2009, Korrespondent valued Tihipko’s wealth at approximately $369 million.

Ukrainian presidential election, 2010

In November 2009, Tihipko assumed leadership of the Strong Ukraine party. By January 2010, he announced that his team intended to compete in the 2014 Kyiv local election.

Tihipko was a candidate in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election for the office of President of Ukraine. He reported the highest earnings among the 18 contenders to the Ukrainian Election Committee, declaring an income of approximately $2.5 million in 2008 and indicating that his campaign expenditures until December 2009 were roughly equivalent. He asserted that his campaign budget totaled around 90 million hryvnia (close to $11 million).

During the initial voting round, Tihipko secured 13.05% of votes, finishing third behind Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych. On 22 January 2010, he cautioned that outgoing president Viktor Yushchenko might impose a state of emergency amid the transfer of power.

Although Tihipko refrained from endorsing any candidate for the runoff, he expressed readiness to serve as Prime Minister of Ukraine under a president whose policies aligned with his own. Tymoshenko offered him the prime ministership contingent on her victory. Yanukovych also hinted at the possibility of Tihipko joining his administration.

Polling data from late 2009 placed Tihipko between third and fifth positions, with support ranging from 4.4% to 7.4%. Analysts regarded him as a viable alternative not only to Yanukovych but also to fellow contender Arseniy Yatseniuk. A Russian poll conducted near the conclusion of the campaign suggested he might unexpectedly claim second place.

An exit poll by ICTV indicated that had Tihipko advanced to the second round, he could potentially have won.

Political career after the 2010 presidential election

On 11 February 2010, Tihipko declared his willingness to accept the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine if President Viktor Yanukovych extended an offer. By 15 February, Yanukovych included him among potential candidates for premiership. Despite two meetings with Yanukovych, Tihipko failed to gain backing from the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc faction. On 21 February, Yanukovych nominated three individuals for Prime Minister: Tihipko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Mykola Azarov.

Tihipko was appointed one of six deputy Prime Ministers in the First Azarov government on 11 March 2010, with responsibility for economic affairs. Following a cabinet reshuffle in December 2010, he was tasked with implementing unpopular reforms and took on roles as both Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Social Policy.

In August 2011, Tihipko and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov revealed intentions to merge Tihipko's Strong Ukraine party with the Party of Regions (POR). By October, Tihipko confirmed plans to join POR after concluding negotiations. The merger was completed on 17 March 2012 when Strong Ukraine was absorbed into POR. On that same day, Tihipko was unanimously chosen as POR’s deputy chairman and became a member of its political council.

During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Tihipko secured re-election to parliament through the Party of Regions’ list. Subsequently, he did not return to ministerial duties but concentrated on influencing POR’s ideological direction. In February 2014, he was among 36 deputies from Party of Regions who voted in favor of impeaching President Viktor Yanukovych.

2014 Ukrainian Presidential Election

In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election, Tihipko entered the race as an independent contender. Out of the 23 participants, he reported the highest income to the Ukrainian Election Committee, declaring earnings of approximately ₴263 million for 2013. After Vitali Klitschko withdrew his candidacy, polls conducted on 31 March positioned Tihipko in second place with 17.9%, trailing behind Petro Poroshenko, who held 38.3%.

On 29 March, the Party of Regions officially endorsed Mykhailo Dobkin as their presidential candidate. Nevertheless, on 7 April 2014, Tihipko was expelled from the party, accusing it of transforming into "a branch of a particular financial and industrial group, essentially a private enterprise."

Tihipko announced the revival of the Strong Ukraine party on 23 April 2014, describing its previous merger with the Party of Regions in 2012 as "an error." He was subsequently re-elected as leader of Strong Ukraine on 5 August 2014.

In the final election results, Tihipko secured fifth place with 5.23% of the vote, surpassing Dobkin, who obtained 3.03%.

Post-2014 Presidential Election Career

During the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Tihipko headed Strong Ukraine’s national party list. However, he failed to gain a parliamentary seat as the party won only one constituency mandate.

Banking Sector from 2015 Onward

In early May 2015, Tihipko assumed the role of chairman of the supervisory board at TAScombank, a member of TAS-Group in which he owns nearly half (approximately 49%). By December 2017, he had acquired a controlling interest (99.9230%) in the Ukrainian subsidiary of Russian state-owned Sberbank. He then integrated this subsidiary into TAScombank without closing any existing branches.

Political Views

Prior to the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, Tihipko promoted fostering constructive ties with both Russia and Western nations. In September 2009, he criticized Ukraine’s foreign policy for economically isolating Russia and diminishing Ukraine’s influence in the region. By January 2010, he expressed that Ukraine was unprepared for EU or NATO accession and stressed the importance of forming a unified government to drive economic development while supporting long-term European integration efforts. In December 2012, he highlighted European integration as more beneficial for Ukraine compared to joining the Customs Union comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

Tihipko advocates for legalizing prostitution in Ukraine, encouraging open dialogue and regulatory frameworks.

Regarding energy policy, he supports privatizing Ukraine’s gas pipeline infrastructure under joint management by Russia and Europe but opposes attempts by Russia to seize control. He criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the April 2010 natural gas agreement despite acknowledging its economic justification.

During his 2014 presidential bid, Tihipko proposed designating Russian as a second official state language. He opposed pro-Russian separatist movements in Eastern Ukraine and backed decentralization reforms. Additionally, he favored maintaining Ukraine’s non-aligned status to prevent internal divisions over NATO membership. Following Russia’s invasion of Crimea, Tihipko publicly labeled Russia as an aggressor.

The 2014 Crimean crisis resulted in Ukraine losing control over Crimea after Russia's unilateral annexation—a status that remains internationally contested amid ongoing conflict involving pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

Family and private life

From 1981 until 2004, Tihipko was wed to Natalia Tihipko. Together, they have a daughter named Anna, born in 1984, who is currently employed within a business owned by her father.

In the course of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election campaign, Tihipko entered into matrimony with Viktoriya Tigipko, who serves as President of the Odesa International Film Festival and holds the position of managing director at a venture firm focused on global online investments. She is acknowledged as one of the leading female entrepreneurs in Ukraine. The couple has three children, born in 2002, 2005, and 2008.

External links

• Official website