Hetman Vadim

Biography of Vadim Hetman

Date of Birth: 12.07.1935

Place of Birth. Education. He was born in the village of Snitin in the Poltava region. In 1956, he graduated from the Faculty of Finance and Economics of Kyiv University. Doctor of Economic Sciences.

Career. After graduating, he worked in various financial and planning institutions in the Zaporizhia region. In 1975, he was appointed as the first deputy chairman of the State Committee for Prices of the USSR.

1987-1992 - Chairman of the Board of the Agroprombank of the USSR (in 1990 the bank was renamed 'Ukraine').

In March 1992, Hetman was elected Chairman of the National Bank Council of Ukraine.

In 1993, he became President of the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange (UMVB), whose founding he significantly influenced. Viktor Yuschenko succeeded the resigned Hetman, who had worked both at APB Ukraine and at the National Bank under the leadership of Vadim Petrovich.

He was twice a member of the Ukrainian parliament - in 1990 and 1994.

Views and Assessments. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the domestic banking system and the national currency - the Hryvnia.

As the 'Weekly Newspaper' once wrote, after Hetman's appointment to the central bank, a new organizational structure was created, a combat-ready creative team was built, computer technology was introduced, research work on the establishment of a clearing house was initiated, and a complex mechanism for producing the new Ukrainian currency - Hryvnia - was launched. In 1992, Hetman was strongly against a quick exit of Ukraine from the ruble zone. The highest leadership of the country did not listen to him. The chairman of the central bank resigns. 'What happened thereafter - is known. A useless currency reform, hyperinflation... Freezing of foreign exchange reserves of Ukrainian enterprises and citizens on accounts of the Foreign Economic Bank of the USSR. Within a year, we all then impoverished millionaires...'

After leaving the central bank, Hetman, together with like-minded people, founded UMVB. At that time, as ZN noted, ideas for creating new financial instruments emerged - the secondary market for securities, the foreign exchange futures market, the precious metals market. As the deputy chairman of the Finance and Banking Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, he was the creator of all financial and banking bills.

Hetman is considered the 'godfather' of Yuschenko - under Hetman's leadership, the third president of Ukraine learned a lot professionally and adopted many things. According to the head of state, his former boss was an effective, successful, and accomplished person. 'I do not remember that Vadim Petrovich was different - it would have been humiliating for him. And he demanded the same from us,' said Yuschenko. He added that Hetman's death was a great tragedy for him.

Tragic End. Hetman died on April 22, 1998: he was shot by a contract killer in the elevator in the stairwell of his house on Suvorov Street in Kyiv. At the time of the murder, he was the chairman of the stock committee of UMVB.

In 2002, the perpetrator of the direct murder was arrested. It turned out to be Sergei Kulev, a member of a gang from Luhansk responsible for several murders. The killer had been known to the police for years. As for the customer, the prison remains silent to this day. Who and for what reason ordered the former head of the central bank and founder of UMVB? Ukrainian justice remains silent.

Yes, in September 2001, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine charged former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko with involvement in contract killings, including Hetman and Deputy Yevhen Shcherban. This version did not receive official confirmation in court.

Also, the earlier version that the banker might have been killed because of his attempt to challenge his defeat in the 1998 parliamentary elections in court was not confirmed.

Awards. Holder of the titles 'Parliamentarian of the Year 1996', 'Financier of the Year 1997'. Academician of the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Ukraine. Awarded with the Order 'Sign of Honor'.

After his death, President Yuschenko posthumously awarded Hetman the title of Hero of Ukraine in July 2005 - 'taking into account his merits in building the national financial system, developing the banking sector and the foreign exchange and financial market, as well as his fruitful socio-political activities'. In the same year, the Kyiv National Economic University was named after the renowned economist and financial expert.

Moreover, shortly after the death of the economist and politician, friends founded the Vadim Hetman Regatta Cruiser Cup, which became the most prestigious regatta in Ukraine.

22.04.2008