Zelensky appoints Freeland as economic development adviser
5 January 13:05
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland as his economic development adviser.
This is stated in Zelensky’s decree, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“Chrystia has professional knowledge of these issues and has significant experience in attracting investment and economic transformation.
Now Ukraine needs to increase its internal resilience – for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy works as soon as possible, and for the sake of strengthening our defense if our partners’ delays make it necessary to work longer to end the war,” the president commented on the appointment.
Chrystia Freeland is a writer, journalist and politician. She was born in Alberta in September 1968.
Her father, Donald Freeland, was a lawyer and member of the Liberal Party. Her mother, Halyna Khomyak, a Ukrainian-born woman who was born in a refugee camp in Germany after the war, was also a lawyer and ran in the 1988 election for the Edmonton-Strathcona riding of the New Democratic Party.
Freeland entered Canadian politics in 2013 as a member of the Liberal Party, winning the by-election for the Toronto city center seat.
She served as Minister of International Trade (2015-2017) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017-2019), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance (2019-2024). In 2020, she became Canada’s first female Minister of Finance.
In the spring of 2025, Freeland ran for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Party. If she had won, Freeland would have become prime minister, but she lost to former central bank governor Mark Carney.
