Zelenskyy appoints Chrystia Freeland as Ukraine economic development advisor
Photo: Press Service of the President's Office

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Chrystia Freeland, former Canadian cabinet minister, as a freelance advisor on economic development. The appointment is formalised in Presidential Decree No. 15/2026 dated January 5.

"Chrystia is an expert on economic issues with extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic reforms. Ukraine now needs to strengthen internal stability—both to accelerate reconstruction if diplomacy succeeds quickly and to reinforce our defense if the war continues longer than expected due to delays by our partners," Zelenskyy said.

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Freeland is also a writer, journalist, and political activist.

She was born on August 2, 1968, in Peace River, Alberta. Her father, Donald Freeland, was a lawyer and member of Canada’s Liberal Party. Her mother, Halyna Khomyak, of Ukrainian descent, was born in a refugee camp in Germany after World War II.

After the 2015 elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Freeland as Minister of International Trade. In 2017, she became Minister of Foreign Affairs, overseeing Canada’s negotiations on the USMCA trade agreement.

In 2019, Freeland was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and in 2020 she became Minister of Finance—the first woman to hold this post in Canada. In this role, she introduced four federal budgets, including major COVID-19 economic support measures.

In December 2024, Freeland resigned from the cabinet on the day she was scheduled to deliver the government’s fall economic statement, triggering a political crisis that ultimately led to Trudeau’s resignation. She ran in the 2025 Liberal Party leadership election and finished a close second to Mark Carney.

In March 2025, Freeland returned to the cabinet as Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, serving until September, when she resigned again. She was then appointed Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.