Svyrydenko orders creation of commission to select new Customs chief

Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko has announced the creation of a commission to select a new head of the State Customs Service. The decision will be considered at the next Cabinet meeting, according to the Prime Minister’s press service following her discussion with Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko.

"I have instructed that a proposal to establish a selection commission for the head of the Customs Service be submitted for consideration at the next government meeting. It is essential that the selection process be transparent and professional," Svyrydenko stated.

The State Customs Service has been without a permanent head for nearly four years, since Pavlo Riabikin joined the Cabinet of Ministers in November 2021.

Since then, the role has been temporarily filled first by Vyacheslav Demchenko, Director of the Department for Combating Smuggling and Customs Violations, and later by Serhii Zviahintsev, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service.

In September 2024, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law to reform the Customs Service, introducing new rules for selecting its leadership. The law mandates a transparent and competitive selection process, with the involvement of international organizations.

• Next week, the government is also expected to make a final decision regarding the winner of a different competition – for the position of Head of the Bureau of Economic Security. The Cabinet was supposed to appoint the winner by the end of July, but missed the deadline — reportedly due to concerns over the candidate’s father holding Russian citizenship.