The Rada has replaced the head of the State Property Fund: what is known about Dmytro Natalukha and what reforms he promises
14 January 19:29
The Verkhovna Rada has appointed Dmytro Natalukha, a member of parliament from the “Servant of the People” party, as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine. The decision was approved by 244 lawmakers, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Immediately afterward, parliament also approved his resignation from his parliamentary seat.
The appointment came after a several-month hiatus in the Fund’s leadership: the previous head of the SPFU, Vitaliy Koval, was dismissed back in September 2024, and Ivanna Smachylo had been acting as the head of the institution.
Who is Dmytro Natalukha
Natalukha was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in 2019 on the Servant of the People party list and chaired the parliamentary committee on economic development. Prior to his work in parliament, he also had experience in public service—from 2015 to 2017, he headed the Lyman District State Administration in the Odesa region.
Speaking in parliament, Natalukha stated that the Fund’s current operating model was established back in the 1990s and was primarily focused on selling off the Soviet legacy rather than on the strategic management of state assets.
According to him, this model has run its course: most attractive assets have already been privatized, and a significant portion of the enterprises remaining in state ownership are either stagnating or operating below their potential and require support.
From Privatization to Capital Management
The new head of the State Property Fund emphasized that privatization should be merely a tool, not an end in itself. He identified the key task as transforming the Fund into an institution for the development of state capital, one that formulates strategies for enterprises and makes them profitable rather than a fiscal burden on the budget.
In this context, Natalukha called on parliament to support Bill No. 13620, which aims to expand the Fund’s autonomy and simplify the secure sale of assets without debt risks. He also announced the preparation of a new bill, No. 14376, to establish a special body within the State Property Fund of Ukraine that will prepare assets for sale on competitive terms without additional budgetary expenditures.
Ministry of Defense Assets and Strategic Enterprises
Separately, Natalukha stated his intention to accelerate the transfer to the Fund of inefficient enterprises currently on the Ministry of Defense’s balance sheet. According to him, this involves several dozen such entities, which are planned to be prepared for privatization to attract investment for their development.
At the same time, he promised to continue work on draft law No. 4020, which defines the list of strategic state-owned assets that are not subject to privatization. The document was adopted in the first reading even before the full-scale invasion, but never reached the final stage of consideration.
