Olena Zerkal

Olena Zerkal is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and an Honored Lawyer of Ukraine.

Born on June 24, 1973, in Kyiv. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University and, in 2007, from the International Relations Faculty of the Institute of International Relations of KNU. She speaks English and French.

Since August 20, 2014, she has been Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a specialist in European integration. She is called one of the co-authors of the Association Agreement with the EU.

On the evening of May 21, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree appointing Olena Zerkal deputy head of the Presidential Administration. At around 11 p.m. on May 21, the decree disappeared from those published on the president's official website. Later, Zerkal explained on her Facebook page that work at the Foreign Ministry appealed to her more than work at the Presidential Administration.

In November 2019, Zerkal announced her resignation from her post.

Olena Zerkal was appointed adviser to the chairman of the board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine on January 29, 2020. Zerkal has a strong background for the new position, as her work at the Foreign Ministry was partly related to Naftogaz matters.