Bankova’s Gray Cardinal: How the Head of the Chancellery Became Ukraine’s ‘Vice President’

Source: Author’s Facebook page

Allow me to “insert my two cents” into the already heated debate surrounding the position of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. For nearly the entire modern history of Ukraine, this has never been the role of a mere “clerk,” a “phone secretary,” or even a “simple manager,” no matter how some may wish to portray it.

In addition to serving as the closest advisor and organizer for implementing the President of Ukraine’s orders, the Head of the Office ensures coordination among the advisory, consultative, and other auxiliary bodies and services established by the President, as well as their interaction with the Office’s structural units — and there have been quite a few of them.

Almost all documents preparing the President’s decisions pass through this office.

A civil servant in this position is expected to arrive before the President and leave long after. In other words, one must be prepared to practically live on Bankova Street during critical times, with all the attendant pressures and circumstances. The work is indeed demanding, but the challenges are fitting for a top-level civil servant, and the position carries considerable influence, though mostly in the name of the President of Ukraine. Anyone who has held it for more than a year has consistently ranked among the top five most influential figures in Ukrainian politics.

Yet until recently, no head of the President’s auxiliary bodies was ever referred to as a “vice president.” That notion only surfaced last night when Dmytro Tabachnyk, pushing other competitors aside “in the corridors leading to the first reception room,” apparently entertained such an idea… though he never actually became a colonel.

The position is undeniably powerful, but none of Ukraine’s previous presidents allowed its temporary officeholders to appear to the public as anything resembling Cardinal Richelieu under Louis XIII — or, perhaps more fittingly, Grigory Rasputin under Nicholas II.

Regarding personnel management and the overall functioning of the Office, many might be surprised to learn that the Office also includes the position of the Head of the Office Staff, complete with deputies and supporting personnel.

The person in this role appoints and dismisses civil servants within the Office, ensures a unified procedure for handling and processing documents, approves regulations for the Office’s structural divisions, sets job descriptions for civil servants and employees, and exercises a range of other powers.

Previously, there was no such position, and the Office functioned without it. The recent civil service reform introduced this mechanism, ostensibly to strengthen the independence of the professional civil service from external influences. Despite its intended purpose, this mechanism has not been working in practice, with the Office’s management still controlling the bulk of decision-making.

At the same time, simply replacing one head of the Office (Administration, Secretariat) with another will not fundamentally change anything if the President of Ukraine is self-sufficient, experienced, strong, and exercises all his powers effectively.

If problems arise — such as blocked access to the Head of State or doubts about the President’s ability to adjust his approaches — there are established methods to ensure a balance of influence within the President’s auxiliary bodies.

One such approach is to appoint individuals whom the President trusts, but who are also non-corrupt and responsible civil servants. Crucially, these positions should be returned to the civil service, subject to anti-corruption legislation, and granted the appropriate access and clearance to state secrets. This applies to the positions of Head of the Office, First Assistant to the President, and Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

This can, of course, lead to internal conflicts (and this has happened), but it is quite realistic to build controlled competition and demonopolize influence over the Head of State.

In any case, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, IN NO event, should create conditions to become equal to the Head of State. We also do not provide for the position of Vice President, because Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential republic. Moreover, this position cannot be more influential than the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada or the Prime Minister of Ukraine. But its importance should not be underestimated either.

How this happens (or rather, happened until recently) in the USA, I recommend reading the book written by Chris Whipple, “The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency.” A documentary film, “The Presidents’ Gatekeepers,” has also been released.

In any case, this lively discussion regarding the position of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine should not distract from the basic problem: the balance of proper performance of power functions and mutual control in the triangle of Parliament-President-Government, where, as you can see, there are no “heads of offices” or other important and influential persons, but clearly subordinate to the institutions defined by the Constitution of Ukraine.

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