Ivan Verbytskyi
Ivan Verbytskyi | |
|---|---|
Іван Вербицький | |
 Verbytskyi in 2026 | |
| Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications | |
| Assumed office 25 September 2025 | |
| President | Volodymyr Zelensky |
| Prime Minister | Yulia Svyrydenko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 June 1994 Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine |
Ivan Ivanovych Verbytskyi (Ukrainian: Іван Іванович Вербицький; born 7 June 1994) is a Ukrainian politician and activist, who is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine since 25 September 2025.[1]
Biography
Verbytskyi was born in a religious Orthodox Christian family in Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast.[2] He graduated from the faculty of politology and got a doctorate of sociology at the Kyiv-Mohyla university. After graduation he moved to Kyiv, where he actively participated in LGBTQ+ activism, helping with the organisation of KyivPride.[3] Verbytskyi participated in the Maidan in 2013–2014.[4]
From 2019 to 2024, he was the head of the CEDOS think tank, which won the New European Bauhaus Prize 2024. From 2015 to 2019, he was managing the urban platform Mistosite and the "Ukrainian Urban Forum".[5] Verbytskyi participated in the Council of Europe projects regarding development of the Concept of Integrated Development of the Podilskyi District of Kyiv.[3] In August 2022, he became a co-founder of the "Passazhyry Kyieva" (Passengers of Kyiv) public initiative, their goal being to consolidate the efforts of transport specialists, activists, and passengers in order to improve public transportation in Kyiv.[6]
On 25 September 2025, Verbytskyi was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.[1] He deals with issues of cultural heritage preservation, including the evacuation and return of museum exhibits due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the overall optimization of the process.[7]
Personal life
Verbytskyi publicly came out as gay on a Facebook post in 2019,[2] which makes him the first openly gay government officeholder in Ukraine.[5] Verbytskyi's sexual orientation became the main emphasis of a number of Ukrainian media outlets, including Suspilne, when announcing his appointment as a deputy minister, which caused a wave of criticism. Suspilne later apologized for emphasising on Verbytskyi's homosexuality and edited their report about him, as it did not follow their journalistic principles of non-discrimination and neutrality.[8][9]
References
- 1 2 Kitsoft. "Кабінет Міністрів України – Про призначення Вербицького І. І. заступником Міністра культури та стратегічних комунікацій України". www.kmu.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- 1 2 "«До Берліна майже як до Грозного». Рік тому Іван з релігійної родини зробив публічний камінг-аут. Як змінилося його життя?". bit.ua Медіа про життя і технології в ньому. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- 1 2 "У Мінкульті з'явився новий заступник міністра: чим він займатиметься | Еспресо". espreso.tv. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ Матвейчук, Мар'яна (5 July 2021). "Хто такі київські урбаністи? Аналітичний центр Cedos". Хмарочос (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- 1 2 Роксолана, Поковба (27 September 2025). "Уряд призначив Вербицького заступником міністра культури". Букви (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ↑ Дар'я, Крутько (23 August 2022). "Київські урбаністи заснували ініціативу «Пасажири Києва» для покращення громадського транспорту". Хмарочос (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ↑ Кабацій, Марія (1 December 2025). "Що відбувається з евакуацією культурних цінностей на 4-му році війни". Суспільне | Новини (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ↑ "У попередньому тексті ми зробили некоректний акцент. Перепрошуємо за помилку!". facebook.com. 27 September 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ↑ "Суспільне перепросило за новину про призначення в Мінкульт Івана Вербицького через порушення своїх стандартів". КИЇВ24 (in Ukrainian). 30 September 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.