Stepan Poltorak went through all the steps of a military career. He commanded various units, is well versed in the problems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. The great practical experience of the military leader was one of the reasons for his appointment to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
Poltorak Stepan Timofeevich: facts from the biography
The future Minister of Defense of Ukraine was born on February 11, 1965 in the village of Veselaya Dolina, in the Tarutinsky district of the Odessa region. From his youth, Stepan was attracted by military service. After graduating from high school, Poltorak became a cadet of the Higher Military Command School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ordzhonikidze).
The education of a military leader is not limited to this: behind his shoulders is the Military Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which he graduated in 1997. Poltorak successfully defended his dissertation: he is a candidate of pedagogical sciences.
Since 1983, Poltorak served in the army. He began his career as a platoon commander, commanded a company, and was chief of staff of a battalion. Stepan Timofeevich quickly found his bearings in an unfamiliar situation, knew military theory well, and had excellent practical training. The authorities immediately appreciated the officer's business qualities: he confidently climbed the career ladder.
Warlord career
Poltorak consistently commanded a battalion, regiment, headed a brigade, served as chief of special and combat training of the country's internal troops.
In the spring of 2002, Poltorak was appointed head of the Academy of Internal Troops, which is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In February-March 2014, he was the commander of the country's internal troops.
In mid-March of the same year, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchinov, proposed Stepan Timofeevich for the post of commander of the National Guard of Ukraine. A meeting of the Verkhovna Rada was held on this issue, however, by a majority vote, the military leader's candidacy was initially rejected. And yet, two weeks later, Poltorak took this responsible position.
In August 2014, Poltorak became Colonel General. A month and a half later, the country's President Petro Poroshenko spoke in favor of Poltorak taking the post of head of the military department of Ukraine. He called the general a real patriot who could raise the country's defense to the proper level. A day later, Poltorak became Minister of Defense. Since October 2014, Petro Poroshenko introduced Stepan Timofeevich to the National Security and Defense Council.
Having taken such a high post, Poltorak was forced to publish data on his family's income. According to the submitted documents, the military leader earned 150 thousand hryvnias in 2013. He owned a spacious apartment of about 90 square meters, and also owned a decent plot of land. The declaration submitted by the minister did not mention bank deposits, vehicles, or other material values.
Stepan Timofeevich is married and has a daughter. He holds a professorship and is a distinguished educator of his country. He was awarded the Medal "For Military Merit", the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky III degree, and other high awards.
