Ihor Smeshko
| Ihor P. Smeshko | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Head of the Security Service of Ukraine | |
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In office 4 September 2003 – 4 February 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Leonid Derkach |
| Succeeded by | Oleksandr Turchynov |
| Military Attache of Ukraine in Switzerland | |
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In office October 2001 – September 2000 |
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| Head of the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence | |
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In office 9 June 1997 – 29 September 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Oleksandr Skipalsk |
| Succeeded by | Viktor Paliy |
| Military Attache of Ukraine in the United States | |
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In office August 1992 – July 1995 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 August 1955 Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine |
| Political party | Strength and Honor Civic Movement |
| Alma mater | Shevchenko National University, Kyiv |
| Religion | Christian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Ukraine
|
| Service/branch |
 Military Intelligence
|
| Years of service | 1992 - 2005 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
Col. General Ihor P. Smeshko (born 17 August 1955) served as the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) from 2003 to 2005, where he was instrumental in preventing the fraudulent ascension of Viktor Yanukovich and shepherding the Orange Revolution to a peaceful conclusion. In 2010, he entered politics with the Ukrainian Strength and Honor (SICH) party, which he formed with several former security and intelligence officials.
Born in 1955 in Khrystynivka, Cherkasy Region, Smeshko has made a career as a professional soldier-scholar. He holds a doctorate in Military Cybernetics and served as professor of information systems and systems analysis, publishing over 100 papers. In 1992, he became secretary of the Science Advisory Council of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. That same year he was reassigned as Defense Attache to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington D.C. where he spent 4 years. While there he negotiated a memorandum of military cooperation with the United States during that time. In 1995, Smeshko was awarded a general's star and recalled to the Ukraine to lead the president's committee on intelligence, which he did for 3 years. In 1997, Smeshko was appointed Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine where he uncovered "massive fraud" in weapons end-user certificate production indicative of arms trafficking at the SBU, then headed by Leonid Derkach. Smeshko implemented stricter controls, particularly for the Kolchuga air defense system.
In 2000, facing political attacks organized by the SBU, Smeshko resigned from his post as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and assumed the post of Defense Attache to Switzerland, a demotion. In this position, he negotiated a memorandum of military cooperation with Switzerland. In 2002, Smeshko completed a masters in Military Administration and a Law Degree from Shevchenko University in Kyiv. In late 2002, Leonid Kuchma asked Smeshko to return to Ukraine to assist him in handling accusations made by the U.S. State Department that Ukraine had sold the Kolchuga system to Iraq. Later that year, Derkach was fired and Smeshko was appointed head of the SBU. He immediately set into action with a plan to preserve documents, replace top management and reorganize the agency with new pay scales and a mission focused away from KGB style secret political police.
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Wikipedia