Formed 24 August 1990 Jurisdiction Ukraine | Type Government ministry | |
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Preceding agency Ukrainian SSR Ministry of Internal Affairs Headquarters 10, Academician Bohomolets street, Kyiv, 01601 Motto Безпека народу - найвищий Закон (People security - supreme Law) | ||
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство внутрішніх справ України, Ministerstvo vnutrishnikh sprav Ukrayiny, MVS) executes state policy for the protection of rights and liberties of citizens, investigates unlawful acts against the interest of society and state, fights crime, provides civil order, ensures civil security, traffic safety, and protects the security and protection of important individuals. It is a centralised agency headed by a Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry closely operates with the office of General Prosecutor of Ukraine. It oversees the National Police of Ukraine (police service) and the National Guard of Ukraine (gendarmerie).
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Formerly, the Ministry directly controlled the Ukrainian national law enforcement agency, termed the militsiya (Ukrainian: міліція). This changed in July 2015, with the introduction of reforms by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko to reduce corruption, whereby the militsiya was replaced with the National Police. Ukraine's militsiya was widely regarded as corrupt, and it has received severe accusations of torture and ill-treatment.
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Ministers of Internal Affairs
The Minister of Internal Affairs directs the ministry. Prior to the 2015 police reform, the Minister was recognised as the head of the militsiya. Many former ministers have previously had experience of serving in the police, and many were, prior to taking up their posts, generals of the militsiya. Typically the Minister was afforded the rank of Colonel-General of the Militsiya upon taking up his post in the Ukrainian government. Yuriy Lutsenko and Vasyl Tsushko are the only former holders of the office who had never served in any law enforcement agency.
The minister of Internal Affairs is responsible directly to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, to the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and ultimately the President of Ukraine. His office is located in Kyiv's Pechersk District.