Why is Andriy Yermak so powerful?

Actually, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office is an office manager. But President Zelensky has given Andriy Yermak far more power. Who is the man – and how powerful is he really?

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke at the UN Security Council last week, a man in olive-green clothing could be seen sitting just behind him to the right. Even when speaking to heads of state or visiting soldiers near the front, the tall “green cardinal,” as some in Kiev call him, can always be seen in their immediate vicinity.

At the Swiss peace summit in June, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrij Yermak, stood in the front row between the heads of government for the group photo. The then foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, was only spotted in the second row. Yermak, Zelensky's shadow, has long been noticeable in Ukraine and abroad.

Stronger than the Prime Minister

The journalist and knowledgeable observer of Ukrainian politics, Denis Trubetskoy, sums it up like this: “You can't really have much more power than what Yermak has.” There is no doubt “that Yermak is the second most powerful man in Ukraine.” This assessment is shared not only by the independent Ukrainian press, but also from those within the presidential office.

On the one hand, the constitution does not provide for this amount of authority for the head of the presidential office – on the other hand, Yermak acts on behalf of the president. His political opponents see him as a power-hungry politician who wants to inherit the president.

The well-connected political scientist and blogger Mykola Davydiuk also calls Jermak's power “enormous.” He is stronger than the Prime Minister and everyone else in the power apparatus. “He's the producer who serves the president and does all the stuff for him so that the star has free rein to move and shine.”

Appreciated by the president, not very popular in the country

However, Davydiuk points out that in a country at war there is more chaos in the presidential administration than in peacetime. This could justify an otherwise unusually high level of power on the part of their management.

Jermak doesn't shy away from long working days and mainly conducts with his cell phone. He and Zelensky would often spend the night in the presidential office, said journalist Trubetskoy. “Yermak doesn't have a wife, he's always available, and Zelensky appreciates that. On the other hand, he doesn't appreciate it when his ministers sit in a restaurant for a long time.” But in the country itself, Yermak is not very popular – even though he is so omnipresent.

Davydiuk reports that rumors were circulating in Kiev that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal should be replaced so that Yermak could take the position. Then he would also have to take political responsibility for his decisions. After the end of the war, the issue will certainly have to be dealt with more closely.

Collaboration since before politics

Like the president, Yermak, who is six years older, was not in politics before Zelensky was elected president in 2019. They had already worked together, Yermak as a media lawyer and producer, Zelenskyj as an actor and comedy star who brought some of his companions from the world of entertainment into politics. Including the now 52-year-old Jermak, who initially didn't have a prominent role. He organized his boss's appointment calendar in the Ukrainian presidential office. Zelensky has now separated from almost all of his other early employees.

Initially, Yermak coordinated the president's schedule and became a negotiator for the exchange of prisoners with Russia. When Zelensky had been in office for nine months, he made Yermak head of the presidential office at the beginning of 2020. Since then, he has been involved in all major foreign policy processes or even steered them for Ukraine – such as the negotiations with Ukraine's so-called partners, the peace summit in Switzerland, the return of abducted Ukrainian children or the exchange of prisoners.

From outside to Personnel policy

In fact, here too, observers agree, Yermak is acting as the foreign minister. Trubetskoy sums it up like this: “He is Zelensky's top diplomat, and the president listens to him on all personnel issues.” Jermak is responsible for relations with the USA and has close ties to the White House. In July, Yermak – not the foreign minister – traveled to the USA to, among other things, discuss possible military targets in Russia and coordinate joint action.

The presidential office moderates everyone Political processes are very close to themselves. Important issues, such as the next peace conference, sanctions against Russia or a special tribunal to punish Russian crimes, pass through the presidential office and therefore through Yermak. The ministries are subordinate to areas that appear important to the presidential office.

Jermak's original job of coordinating and providing access to the president's schedule has remained, to the extent that he and his team still manage who the president meets. He also has control over who is close to the president and who is not. As a result, there are fewer and fewer people who have direct access to Zelenskyj past Yermak, said Trubetskoy.

In general, Yermak has a strong influence on the president's personnel list. There are hardly any politicians in the government – “it's more like managers,” says Trubetskoy. If a minister or official crosses Yermak's red lines, says someone who has experienced this, then their political career will be over.

For example, if someone acts too independently or is too close to the president and thus escapes Yermak's control, Jermak replaces these positions with his people. The last prominent example of the pattern was Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who had to vacate his seat in early September. His successor, Andrij Syibiha, was previously one of Yermak's deputies in the presidential office. And the Minister for Reconstruction, Olexij Kuleba, who has to be responsible for particularly large budgets, was previously deputy head of the presidential office. His boss there was Andrij Jermak.