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Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, born 25 January 1978 in Kryvyi Rih to a Jewish family, is the sixth President of Ukraine. He graduated in law from Kyiv National Economic University but never practiced, instead founding the production studio Kvartal 95 and building a career as a comedian, actor, and producer. From 2015 to 2019, he starred as a history teacher who accidentally becomes president in the hit TV series Servant of the People. In March 2018, Kvartal 95 registered a real political party using the show’s name to prevent others from exploiting it. The party, officially led by Ivan Bakanov and later by Olena Shuliak, is centrist, pro-European, and liberal. Despite being a political novice, Zelenskyy won the presidency in April 2019 with 73% of the vote, and his party secured a parliamentary majority that July. Initially elected on a peace platform, his wartime leadership since Russia’s full-scale invasion has transformed him into a global symbol of resistance. He is married to Olena Zelenska; they have two children.