Former MP Zalishchuk becomes Ukraine’s ambassador to Sweden: what we know about her
28 July 2025 22:24
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree appointing Svitlana Zalishchuk Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Sweden. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the relevant decree No. 556/2025.
“To appoint Svitlana Petrivna Zalishchuk as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Sweden,” the document says.
According to the document published on the President’s website, Zalishchuk officially begins her diplomatic mission in Stockholm. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a freelance adviser in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
What we know about Svitlana Zalishchuk
Svitlana Zalishchuk is a well-known public figure.
Prior to entering politics, Svitlana Zalishchuk worked as a journalist: in particular, she was a reporter at Channel 5. Later, she held positions in the press services of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Presidential Administration of Ukraine. At the same time, she was actively involved in civic activities, being one of the coordinators of the Center UA organization, which promoted reform initiatives and strengthened public control over the government.
In 2014-2019, she was a Member of Parliament of Ukraine from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party, where she chaired the Subcommittee on Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and European Integration in the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs. She was also a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and participated in international forums on democracy, human rights and reforms.
In 2019, she left the BPP faction together with Serhiy Leshchenko and Mustafa Nayem.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, she ran as a self-nominated candidate in the 199th constituency in Cherkasy region, but did not make it to the Verkhovna Rada.
In November 2019, she was appointed Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, and since May 2021, she has worked as an advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine on international issues. Prior to her appointment to the diplomatic post, Zalishchuk was also a freelance adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
Zalishchuk’s appointment follows the rotation of Ukrainian ambassadors. Her predecessor, Andriy Plakhotnyuk, who had been head of Ukraine’s diplomatic mission in Sweden since 2020, was recently appointed ambassador to Canada.
