Iryna Venediktova

Iryna Valentynivna Venediktova was born on 21 September 1978 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, into a family of legal professionals. Her father, Valentyn Semenovych Venediktov, was a major general of the police and a distinguished lawyer, while her mother, Valentyna Mykhailivna Venediktova, also holds a PhD in Law and worked in academia.

Venediktova began her academic career as a lecturer at the Kharkiv Humanitarian Institute of the People's Ukrainian Academy from 2000 to 2004. She earned her PhD in Law in 2003 and later became an associate professor at VN Karazin Kharkiv National University, where she led the Department of Civil Law from 2005 to 2019. She also holds the title of professor and has published over 100 scientific works.

In 2018, Venediktova became an advisor on legal matters to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and was elected to the Verkhovna Rada as a Member of Parliament for the Servant of the People party in July 2019. She served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy, contributing to significant legislative reforms.

On 27 December 2019, Venediktova was appointed Director of the State Bureau of Investigation ad interim, making her the first woman to lead a state law enforcement agency in Ukraine. During her brief tenure, she implemented a new organizational structure and established a separate investigative unit for the Maidan case.

Venediktova was appointed Prosecutor General on 17 March 2020, becoming the first woman to hold this position in Ukraine. She oversaw significant reforms within the prosecutor's office, including the certification of prosecutors and the establishment of new regional offices, which resulted in a notable reduction in the number of prosecutors.

As Prosecutor General, Venediktova managed high-profile criminal cases, including those involving members of parliament and the investigation of crimes during the Maidan protests. She also completed the investigation of the assault on activist Kateryna Handziuk and initiated criminal charges against former executives of PrivatBank for embezzlement.