The Cabinet of Ministers eliminated the position of “Minister without Portfolio”: what has changed
31 July 2025 22:23
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has officially abolished the position of a Cabinet minister, better known as a “minister without portfolio.” From now on, reports on personnel issues at government meetings will be made personally by the Prime Minister or the State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers. This is evidenced by Resolution No. 927 of July 30, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Government Resolution No. 394 of June 24, 2016, on the approval of the Regulation on the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, has been declared invalid.
This actually means the elimination of the position of Minister without portfolio, which performed coordination and representative functions in the government.
Who will now be responsible for coordination?
According to the new rules:
- The Prime Minister or the State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers (on his behalf) will now report on personnel issues at government meetings. Previously, this was the responsibility of the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers.
- TheMinister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture is responsible for coordinating the development of the medium-term government action plan and the priority action plan. If necessary, this function can also be performed by the State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers.
- Thecoordination of the activities of central executive bodies subordinated to the Cabinet of Ministers is the responsibility of the Prime Minister or the relevant minister upon the proposal of the Head of Government.
In addition, the government has issued a new version of the Regulation on the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, which regulates its work without a separate minister of the Cabinet of Ministers.
A minister without portfolio is a member of the government who does not head any ministry but performs coordination and organizational functions.
In Ukraine, the official title of this position was Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers. His responsibilities included
coordination of the work of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers;
responsibility for preparing the agenda of government meetings;
reports on personnel issues and draft decisions;
ensuring coordination of ministries’ work with each other and with the Parliament.
On July 17, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Yulia Svyrydenko as the new Prime Minister. Denys Shmyhal became the Minister of Defense, while Andriy Sybiga retained the post of Foreign Minister.
on July 21, the Cabinet of Ministers reorganized ministries at a regular meeting. The Ministry of National Unity, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Strategic Industries ceased to exist and were merged with other agencies.
