Zelensky Appoints 34-year-old IT Specialist as Ukraine's Defense Minister
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an unexpected personnel appointment. The country's new defense minister will be 34‑year‑old Mykhailo Fedorov — vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, known as the creator of the 'Diia' public services system and the initiator of the 'Army of Drones' project.
Mykhailo Fedorov
Who is Mykhailo Fedorov?
Mykhailo Fedorov was born in 1991 in Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He graduated from the Faculty of Sociology and Management at Zaporizhzhia National University and also completed training in digital transformation strategy at the Yale School of Management.
Before entering politics, Fedorov was involved in business — he founded SMMSTUDIO, a company specializing in social media advertising.
His political career began in 2019 when he led the digital direction of Volodymyr Zelensky's election campaign. After the victory, he became a freelance advisor to the president, and then — a People's Deputy from the 'Servant of the People' party.
'State in a Smartphone' and 'Army of Drones'
Since August 29, 2019, Mykhailo Fedorov has served as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, becoming the youngest minister in Ukrainian politics.
During his tenure, he initiated and implemented a number of projects that fundamentally changed the interaction of citizens with the state:
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'Diia' — a portal and mobile application that unified passports, driver's licenses, COVID certificates, and dozens of other public services.
- 'Diia.City' — a special tax and legal space for IT companies.
- 'Army of Drones' — a joint project with the General Staff, which simplified bureaucracy and gave a powerful impetus to the development of Ukrainian UAV production. Fedorov also presented the Brave1 Market platform, which he described as 'Amazon for the military'.
In addition, it was Fedorov who, a few days after the start of the full-scale invasion, appealed to Elon Musk with a request to grant Ukraine access to Starlink. As a result, tens of thousands of terminals became operational in Ukraine.
For his work, Fedorov has received numerous international awards and has been featured in Forbes' '30 Under 30' and TIME100 Next rankings. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine.
The appointment of the head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation to the post of Minister of Defense indicates that Volodymyr Zelensky is betting on the technological development of the army, in particular, on the mass implementation of unmanned systems and the digitalization of military processes.
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