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Ukraine's parliament names new finance and health ministers
Summary
A look back at the vote of 30 March 2020, taken as the coronavirus epidemic and a financial crisis converged.
Who would steer Ukraine's finances and its health system as an epidemic spread? On 30 March 2020, the Verkhovna Rada gave its answer, electing Serhiy Marchenko as finance minister and Maksym Stepanov as health minister.
The vote came against two pressures named at the time: the spread of the coronavirus and a financial crisis. Both portfolios sat at the centre of the response. The finance ministry handles the state's money, and the health ministry handles medical care.
An emergency already in force
Five days earlier, on 25 March 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers had introduced a state of emergency across the whole country for 30 days because of the spread of the disease. The parliamentary appointments therefore came while that regime was already in effect.
The same day, 25 March, also brought an unrelated item of political news: security forces arrested former Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara on charges of murdering advertising mogul Sergiy Starytsky.
The appointments of 30 March 2020 filled two of the most pressing posts in Kyiv's response, at a moment when the country was dealing with a public-health emergency and financial strain together.
