New Ukrainian President brings showbiz friends into cabinet
Ukraine's president, a former comedian, has put his co-stars and several entertainment industry figures in leadership positions.
Ukrainian media recently published information about the new cabinet of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Accordingly, a series of his "co-stars" and some figures in the entertainment industry were all appointed as officials.
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Notably, the position of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration was assigned to Serhiy Trofimov, a producer at Mr. Zelensky’s Kvartal 95 studio. Mr. Serhiy Trofimov will work under Andriy Bohdan, a former lawyer for billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky – the figure rumored to be behind Mr. Zelensky in the surprising election in Ukraine. Mr. Andriy Bohdan was previously assigned the position of Chief of the Presidential Administration.
Serhiy Shefirm, Yuriy Kostiuk, and Kyrylo Tymoshenko, former screenwriters, former founders of the Kvartal 95 studio, and television producers, were appointed senior advisers to the president by Zelensky. Ivan Bakanov, a TV co-star with Zelensky, was appointed deputy director of the State Security Service (SBU). Bakanov was also the co-founder of the Servant of the People party with Zelensky in the recent Ukrainian elections.
According to the BBC, Mr. Zelensky is determined to realize his ambition of "making his TV dream come true" after appointing a series of cabinet positions that are all entertainment industry figures. All of these people have no political experience, like Mr. Zelensky.
"The only political experience they have is gained through their roles in popular comedy TV series. Zelensky is taking very bold steps" - an expert commented on the BBC.
