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Oleksandr Moroz
Oleksandr Moroz speaking during his presidential campaign of 2004.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
In office July 6, 2006[1] – 2007
Preceded by	Volodymyr Lytvyn
Succeeded by	Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
In office May 18, 1994[2] – 1998
Preceded by	Ivan Plyushch
Succeeded by	Oleksandr Tkachenko
Born	February 29, 1944 (1944-02-29) (age 63) Buda, Taraschanskyi Raion, Kiev Oblast,  Ukrainian SSR
Political party	Socialist Party of Ukraine
Spouse	Valentina Andreevna (née Lavrinenko)[3]
Children	Irina (1966) Ruslana (1972)
Website	http://www.spu.in.ua/leader.php

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Мороз, born February 29, 1944, in Buda, Taraschanskyi Raion of the Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian statesman and politician. He was the Speaker of Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine two times: 2006 trough 2007, and previously in 1994 through 1998. Moroz is one of the founders and long-term chairman of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, an influential party which, however, has lost the recent parliamentary election entirely.

Contents 1 Career before the collapse of the Soviet Union 2 Career from the collapse of the Soviet Union until the Orange Revolution 3 Orange Revolution 4 Political views 5 2006 election as Chairman of Verkhovna Rada 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External links

After graduating from the local school in 1960 Oleksandr Moroz graduated from the Agricultural Academy of the UkrSSR becoming a mechanical engineer. Then he worked in many careers, including as a teacher and engineer for twelve years, and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, moving from the First Secretary of local Regional Committee of the CPSU to the position of the Head of the Kiev Oblast Committee and the Oblast Trade Union Committee. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1972 to 1991.

On October 26, 1991, he arranged the congress that formed the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU) as a successor of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He has been a deputy of Verkhovna Rada since 1990.

Moroz ran as a presidential candidate from his Socialist Party of Ukraine in the 1994 and 1999 elections, he came third both times, with 13.04% of the vote in 1994 and 11.29% in 1999. In 1999, many experts predicted that Moroz had a chance to defeat incumbent Leonid Kuchma in the election run-off and according to many observers the government rigged the election results [1] in favor of Petro Symonenko (of the Communist Party of Ukraine) in order to make sure that unpopular Symonenko, rather than Moroz, would compete against Kuchma in the run-off vote.

In 1996, Moroz together with several other parties prevented President Leonid Kuchma's attempt to concentrate most of the powers in the president's hands and led the parliament to adopt on June 28 the new Constitution that includes many positions close to the demands of left parties. In 1999 after signing the treaty of "Kanev Four" he became an acknowledged leader of the non-Communist opposition to Kuchma.

In 2001 Moroz at a sitting of the Verkhovna Rada made public "Mykola Melnychenko’s tapes" that alleged the involvement of the top leaders of the state (including president Kuchma) in the murder of famous independent journalist Georgiy Gongadze that provoked the political crisis in Ukraine known as the Cassette Scandal. Moroz was a member of a special board "Forum of national salvation", a representative of a Public Committee of Protection of the Constitution "Ukraine Without Kuchma" (and later "Rise, Ukraine!") in charge of negotiations with representatives of the regime.

In 2002 the Socialist Party of Ukraine (which includes Yuriy Lutsenko, Josef Vinski, Mykola Rudkovski, Valentyna Semenyuk) got the fourth place in the Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2002. The socialists joined the “oppositional four” a group of parties that also included Our Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko Electoral Bloc and Communist Party of Ukraine.

In the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, Moroz was nominated by the Socialist Party of Ukraine, which he has chaired since 1991. He won third place with 5.81% of the vote. As a longtime leader of anti-Kuchma forces, Moroz quickly announced his support for Viktor Yushchenko's presidential bid against Kuchma's prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich, thus making Yushchenko the favourite to win in round two. That Yushchenko did not win despite this endorsement was used to argue that there was election fraud in the run-off. Moroz supported the subsequent Orange Revolution, the mass protests that eventually led to the annulment of the vote results and to a revote won by Yushchenko. The support of the Ukrainian socialists he brought to Yushchenko was important to widen Yushchenko's appeal to voters. Similarly, the votes of Moroz's Socialist party faction in Verkhovna Rada (parliament) were crucial for passing several important resolutions during the Orange Revolution, particularly the non-confidence vote in the Kuchma-Yanukovych government involved in election fraud scandal.

Deftly, Moroz used the crisis to force through some long-wanted changes to the Ukrainian constitution, changes that made Ukraine a parliamentary and not a presidential republic. This proposal, pushed by Moroz and Petro Simonenko, was Moroz's price for continued backing for Yushchenko and for the revote through the crisis. The new constitution went into effect in January 2006, despite Yushchenko's furious opposition.

Since Oleksandr Moroz organized the left-centrist Socialist Party of Ukraine his party ideology largely evolved from orthodox Communism to Social democracy. He himself is a left-wing social democrat of the European type who uses both Marxist and Social democratic ideas. For this reason he met strong opposition from a more rigid wing of his party represented by the supporters of Nataliya Vitrenko. Finally, Vitrenko left the Socialist party, proclaimed the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine and bannered Moroz as "Opportunist" and "traitor", much helping Kuchma to fight the opposition of Ukraine of which Moroz' Socialist Party was part. After the last radicals headed by Ivan Chyzh left the party and formed an organization called "Spravedlyvist" ("Justness"), Moroz was able to transform his party closer to the European Social Democratic model. Now the Socialist party led by Moroz is a member of Socialist International and had three ministers in Yuri Yekhanurov's cabinet, which ended partly because of the socialist party’s defection from the coalition.

Moroz and his party support the political reform and Ukraine's transition towards a more European Parliamentary democracy, which shifted the power balance in Ukraine striping the President from some of his powers in favor of the parliament. Moroz also speaks in support of the preservation of land for Ukrainian farmers and has made many promises about resolving social problems, using socialist rhetoric. The program of his party begins with a statement that demands real democracy for working people.

Oleksandr Moroz party boasts moral values in politics and represents the moderately left ideology in Ukraine.

Moroz is often vilified by Vitrenko as well as some nationalists and communists.

Moroz was elected the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine late on the night of July 6, 2006 (238 ayes, 226 needed for election) with support of the Party of Regions, SPU, and communist factions.

The election was highly controversial, because the candidacy had been proposed in violation of the coalition agreement among Yulia Tymoshenko, Our Ukraine, and SPU factions.

Moroz's decision tipped the balance in parliament. This decision was motivated in part from Yushchenko's continued opposition to those constitutional changes that Moroz proposed and forced through during the so-called Orange Revolution. Also, with his opposition to Ukraine's membership in NATO, Yanukovich proved the more natural coalition partner. Lastly, the two leading Orange parties refused to appoint Moroz as Speaker despite Moroz's role as kingmaker during the 2004 elections. Yushchenko insisted on having a member of his party in the speakership, claiming that he needed a major post for his party with Timoshenko proposed for a return to the premiership. That the presidency was held by a member of his party with Moroz's help is something he chose to ignore and to his great cost.

As of April 2006, Moroz continues as Speaker, defending the Verkhovna Rada against Yushchenko's attempt to dissolve it and reverse the changes Moroz proposed and had passed in late 2004.

Moroz is fond of poetry and chess. He has written following books:

• (1993) Куди йдемо?... (Where we go?...). Kyiv: Association "Postup". ISBN 5770750308. 
• (1995) Тема для роздумів (Subject for thoughts). Kyiv: Zlahoda. ISBN 5770755687. 
• (1996) Вибір (Choice). 
• (1999) Дорога, з якої не зійти (An unavoidable path). OCLC 58407685. 
• (1999) Між вічними полюсами (Between permanent poles). Kyiv: Parlaments'ke vydavnytstvo. ISBN 9667288935. 
• (2000) Про землю, Конституцію і не тільки (About land, Constitution and not only). Kyiv: Redaction of newspaper "Tovarysh". ISBN 966-786-400-6. 
• (2001) Хроніка одного злочину (The chronicle of the crime). Kyiv: Politrada SPU. OCLC 49307992. 
• (2004) Політична анатомія України (Political anatomy of Ukraine). Kyiv: Parlaments'ke vydavnytstvo. ISBN 9666112744. 
• (2004) Жива стерня (Live stubble). Kyiv: Parlaments'ke vydavnytstvo. ISBN 9666112736.  Recognized by international literature award named after Hryhori Skovoroda.
• (2004) ...З відстані (...From distance). Kyiv: Parlaments'ke vydavnytstvo. ISBN 9666112787. 
• (2006) Обличчям до вогню (Facing fire). Kyiv: Tomiris.  Poetry collection in Ukrainian language.
• (2006) Белый снег на каменной террасе (White snow on stone terrace).  Poetry collection in Russian language.
• (2007) Кують зозули. Kyiv: Parlaments'ke vydavnytstvo. ISBN 9789666115679. .

• Socialist Party of Ukraine (website, in Ukrainian)
• "Tovarysh", the official newspaper of the Socialist Party of Ukraine (website, Ukrainian and Russian versions)

Political offices
Preceded by Ivan Plyushch	Chairman of Verkhovna Rada 1994–1998	Succeeded by Oleksandr Tkachenko
Preceded by Volodymyr Lytvyn	Chairman of Verkhovna Rada 2006–2007	Succeeded by Arseniy Yatsenyuk