Brussels Forum Session: Opening Dinner: A Shared Cause, A Meal Shared—Voices from the Region
Vitali Klitschko has served as mayor of Kyiv since 2014. Prior to that, he served for two years in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) as a member of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), a party he has led since 2010. Klitschko is a dedicated social activist who, together with his brother Volodymyr, established the Klitschko Brothers Foundation in 2003.
Klitschko began his political career in 2006, when he ran as head of the "Pora-PRP" bloc for the Kyiv City Council. The election results allowed him to become the bloc's group leader on the council. He was able to double the bloc's council representation in a snap election in 2008, and in 2011 the bloc was renamed “Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR” (udar in Ukrainian means knockout).
Before entering into politics, Klitschko was a professional boxer. He earned a variety of titles, among them European Champion, Inter-Continental World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) champion, and WBO and World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion. The WBC named Klitschko the best puncher in the history of heavyweight boxing.
Klitschko holds a PhD in sport and physical education from the Hryhorii Skovoroda Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi State Pedagogical University and a master’s degree in social development management from the National Academy of Public Administration.