Alexander Lukashenko

• Born: August 30, 1954
• Birthplace: Kopys, Belarus

Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko was first elected president of the Republic of Belarus on July 10, 1994. He was then controversially reelected to the presidency in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Lukashenko's third term as president was made possible by a 2004 constitutional referendum that removed the two-term limit on presidential service. He has also used the tool of the constitutional referendum to greatly expand the powers of the presidency and reduce the role of the country's parliament. During his tenure as president, Lukashenko has been sharply criticized by Western governments and human rights organizations for his dictatorial rule. He has also been criticized for curtailing freedoms of speech and assembly, which has made it increasingly difficult for voices of political opposition to be heard.

Background

Lukashenko was born on August 30, 1954, in the settlement of Kopys, Belarus. He grew up without a father (Lukashenko is his mother's name) and he was heavily involved in the running of household affairs as a young man. His mother, Katsyaryna, was employed as both a factory worker and a farm worker at various times. Little is known about Lukashenko's childhood, but he is said to have enjoyed music as a boy and has demonstrated his skills on the accordion in at least one political advertisement. Lukashenko enrolled at the Mogilev Teaching Institute in 1971, where he studied history and earned a teaching diploma. Lukashenko's future wife, Halina Zhaunerovich, also attended the institute. Together they have two sons, Viktar and Dzmitry.

Early Career

After earning his teaching diploma, Lukashenko served in the Belarusian army for five years, where he acted as a political propaganda officer with the army's border troops unit. He went on to pursue further education, graduating from the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in 1985. Lukashenko held various jobs before he entered the world of politics, including running state and collective farms and holding a managerial position in a factory that produced building materials. Between 1987 and 1989, Lukashenko took on the directorship of a collective farm that was running at a loss. The changes he made as director of the farm turned around its financial situation, making it profitable. Lukashenko received a considerable amount of favorable attention from both the media and the Soviet leadership (Belarus formed part of the Soviet Union until 1991) for this accomplishment.

Parliament

In 1990, Lukashenko was elected to his country's parliament, known as the Belarusian Supreme Soviet. Lukashenko was a firm believer in communist principles, and one of his early acts was to found a parliamentary faction known as Communists for Democracy. Although Belarus had achieved its independence in 1991, Lukashenko supported the country's economic and diplomatic ties to Soviet Russia. He was in favor of the possibility of forming a new union that included both Russia and Belarus, along with other Slavic states.

During his years in parliament, Lukashenko became a passionate and vocal critic of the politicians in power at the time. He developed a reputation for being an independent thinker who was disgusted with the corruption that existed in the current government. In 1993, he began serving as the chair of an anti-corruption committee, a role that allowed him to write and deliver a scathing report on illegal acts committed by state officials. His role in investigating corruption made Lukashenko a hero to the public, who saw him as a man of powerful principles.

First Term as President

When Lukashenko first ran for the presidency, the two highlights of his campaign platform were his commitment to ending corruption in the Belarusian government, and his opposition to the privatization of industry. Both these positions were extremely popular with the vast majority of the country's workers, as was Lukashenko's background working in farms and factories. On July 10, 1994, Lukashenko won the presidential election against a handful of other candidates, including then-president Vyacheslav Kebich, with an impressive 80 percent of the vote.

Soon after assuming the presidency, Lukashenko held a constitutional referendum that included a proposal that Russian should become the nation's second language (in addition to Belarusian) and that the existing national flag should be replaced with a new design that more closely resembled the Soviet symbol. Besides cementing the country's connections with Russia, the referendum also stipulated that the president would be allowed to dissolve the parliament under certain conditions. The referendum passed with about three quarters of the voting public in support of the measures.

In November 1996, Lukashenko held a second constitutional referendum. This time the proposed changes to the constitution included a drastic reduction in the size of the parliament, which went from a total of 260 seats to just 120. Another proposal sought to increase the powers of the president, giving him the authority to create and enforce decrees without a formal process of legislation. The referendum also extended the president's term in office beyond 1999, when it would have expired. The measures passed overwhelmingly while the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an international organization observing the election, questioned the legitimacy of the process.

Human Rights Issues

However, Lukashenko continued to be well-liked during this period, largely because of the almost theatrical way in which he dealt with ministers and government officials, who he claimed had made poor decisions or engaged in corrupt behavior. He also promised that the state-run farms and industries would continue to run in the same strict, orderly manner and that no one's job or pension would be in jeopardy. Among his supporters, Lukashenko acquired the nickname "Bat'ka," which means "father." Yet, Lukashenko also reduced civil rights by censoring the media and suppressing political opposition. Those who opposed Lukshenko's policies fled Belarus after being harassed, and some disappeared. It became increasingly difficult for Belarusians to exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly.

In 2021, Lukashenko was highly criticized by western leaders after forcing a plane transporting a journalist, Roman Protasevich, to land in Minsk, essentially hijacking and kidnapping Protasevich to arrest him based on his views and reporting. In the following year, the country engaged in military exercises with Russia and supported Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions from Western nations intended to discourage this support were met with opposition as Lukashenko amended the country's constitution to further align with Putin's ideologies. The president was granted immunity from all prosecution in the revision.

Extended Presidency

In 2001 Lukashenko was reelected to the presidency. However, the OSCE again expressed concern that there were "fundamental flaws" in the country's electoral process. In 2004, Lukashenko initiated another constitutional referendum. This time, it abolished the regulation that stated a president could only serve for a total of two consecutive terms. He was subsequently elected to the presidency for a third time in 2006. Once again, foreign observers and many international nations harshly criticized what they saw as an unfair and illegitimate vote. Lukashenko was even prohibited from entering any of the member nations of the European Union (EU) because of the suspicion with which he was viewed by European nations. Despite his authoritarian rule, Lukashenko continued to retain the loyalty of a majority of working-class Belarusians.

In April 2010, Vice President Xi Jinping of China announced the country would loan Belarus $1 billion which will be used for development. Many analysts suggested that Lukashenko was aiming to decrease Belarusian reliance on Russian energy sources and economic dependence from revenues from trade with Russia.

On December 20, 2010, it was reported by government election officials that Lukashenko had again been reelected, earning nearly 80 percent of the total vote in the presidential election held the previous day. However, the accuracy of the vote counting and the legitimacy of the election itself were widely contested in Belarus. Opposition candidates and their supporters were arrested as government forces attempted to tamper political demonstrations from occurring in Minsk. Several injuries were reported. Lukashenko called the protestors "bandits" and stated that the election was fair.

Over the next decade, as Lukashenko took a role in efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and Russia following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, which included his hosting of a meeting on the issue in Minsk in 2015, concerns over the legitimacy of Belarus's elections both on behalf of the people themselves and international authorities continued as Lukashenko also claimed overwhelming victory in the elections held in 2015 and 2020. Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020, which Lukashenko had downplayed the severity of, massive protests and rallies were held following the election in August as people called for his ouster and asserted that, in addition to suppression of political opposition, the election had once again been rigged. Even as the EU, along with countries such as the United States, declared that it would not recognize Lukashenko as president, he held an unannounced inauguration ceremony in September; he largely refused to meet with opposition figures. In October, the EU approved new sanctions against him.

Bibliography

"Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under Fire." BBC News, 11 Sept. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53637365. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.

Ilyushina, Mary, et al. "Protests in Belarus as Disputed Early Election Results Give President Lukashenko an Overwhelming Victory." CNN, 10 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/10/europe/belarus-election-protests-lukashenko-intl-hnk/index.html. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.

Rudnik, Alesia. "Will Belarus Protests Topple Europe's Last Dictator, Alexander Lukashenko?" NBC News, 20 Aug. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/will-belarus-protests-topple-europe-s-last-dictator-alexander-lukashenko-ncna1237472. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.

Teh, Cheryl, and Sophia Ankel. "Meet Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, who is Putin's closest ally and helping him in the war in Ukraine." Insider, 16 Feb. 2023, www.businessinsider.com/who-is-alexander-lukashenko-closer-look-at-the-belarusian-dictator-2021-5. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.