$ 44.67 € 51.13 zł 11.81
+20° Kyiv +19° Warsaw +31° Washington

Andriy Butenko has been appointed the new Minister of Education—here's what we know about him

UA NEWS 16 July 2026 16:33
Andriy Butenko has been appointed the new Minister of Education—here's what we know about him

The Verkhovna Rada has appointed Andriy Butenko as Ukraine’s new Minister of Education and Science. Previously, he headed the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, and he has now succeeded Oksen Lisovyi, who had led the Ministry of Education and Science since March 2023.

Andriy Butenko has many years of experience in the field of education and higher education quality assurance. Prior to his appointment as minister, he headed the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, which is responsible for accrediting educational programs and monitoring standards at institutions of higher education.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the corresponding decision on July 16 following a vote on the new cabinet. Butenko had been considered the leading candidate for the position of Minister of Education.

This was later confirmed by Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of parliament and member of the “European Solidarity” faction.

What is known about Andriy Butenko

Andriy Butenko is a scholar and educator in the field of legal history, as well as an expert in higher education quality assurance. He holds a Ph.D. in History and is an associate professor. Since February 2019, he has served as deputy head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (NAZYAO). Since April 2022, he has been the head of NAZYAO.

He was a member of the Interdepartmental Coordination and Methodological Council on Legal Education for the Public, the working group on legal education reform, and working groups tasked with drafting a number of Ukrainian legislative acts in the field of higher education. He headed the Coordination Council of Young Lawyers of Ukraine under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

He is the founder, director, chair of the organizing committee, and chair of the jury for a number of public educational projects aimed at developing student self-governance, legal literacy, and the professional development of lawyers. He developed and implemented a new accreditation procedure for educational programs in accordance with the European model of quality assurance in higher education. He has participated in a number of international projects in the field of quality assessment and innovation in higher education. He is the author of scholarly and pedagogical works published in Ukrainian and international journals, particularly on the topic of quality assurance in higher education.

Who Joined the New Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

  • Denys Shmyhal – First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Energy of Ukraine
  • Tetyana Berezhna – Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy, Minister of Culture of Ukraine
  • Vsevolod Chentsov – First Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine
  • Vitaliy Bezgin – Minister of Communities, Territories, and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine
  • Matvii Bidnyi – Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine
  • Andriy Butenko – Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine
  • Ivan Vygivsky – Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
  • Taras Vysotsky – Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine
  • Mykola Kalashnyk – Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport of Ukraine
  • Vitaliy Kim – Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine
  • Oleksandr Kravchenko – Minister of Economy and Environment of Ukraine
  • Viktor Lyashko – Minister of Health of Ukraine
  • Serhiy Marchenko – Minister of Finance of Ukraine
  • Denis Maslov – Minister of Justice of Ukraine
  • Denis Ulyutin – Minister of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine
  • Oksana Ferchuk – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

The day before, the publication Mezh reported on his likely appointment, citing its own sources

Following the government’s resignation, Lisovyi spoke about reforms in education.

Lisovyi declared nearly 1.9 million hryvnias in income

Following a decision by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, a full audit of all Ukrainian mineral resources and their users has begun. This is a priority issue for the Ukrainian government.

During a session, Uzhhorod City Council member Valentin Shtefanyo presented Mayor Bohdan Andriyiv with a plastic shovel to protest a 12.7-hectare land project related to subsoil use. The council member expressed doubt about whether amber mining was actually taking place on this site and joked about the possibility of finding “gold.”

Read us on Telegram and Sends

Download our app