Yanukovych begins administrative reform with cabinet makeover

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych launched administrative reform of the government in a series of decrees posted on his official website late last Thursday night. Yanukovych’s moves cut the number of ministries from 20 to 16, the number of government bodies from 112 to 63 and the total number of employees working under the Cabinet of Ministers by half. Several key ministers remain, albeit in slightly different positions including Mykola Azarov (Prime Minister), Borys Kolesnikov (Minister of Infrastructure), Sergiy Tigipko (Minister of Social Policy), Yuriy Boyko (Minister of Energy and Coal Industry) and Fedir Yaroshenko (Minister of Finance).  Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers had been one of the largest in Europe.