Oleksandr Omelchenko

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Mayor of Kiev
Oleksandr Omelchenko Олександр Омельченко
In office 1999 – March 26, 2006
Preceded by	Hryhoriy Surkis
Succeeded by	Leonid Chernovetskyi

Born	August 9, 1938 (1938-08-09) (age 69) Lypovetskyi Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Ukrainian

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Омельченко) became the mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in 1999. He lost his re-election bid in March 2006.

He served as both the elected head the city's local government (i.e., a mayor) and the head of the Kiev city administration (a separate position appointed by the President of Ukraine)

While he was running for a third term in what was expected to be an easy victory in the March 2006 election, he was badly defeated and came third behind Leonid Chernovetsky (mayor-elect) and Vitali Klitschko.

During the 1999 mayoral election, Omelchenko defeated a noted oligarch Hryhoriy Surkis, with 76 percent of the vote to Surkis's 16 percent. Omelchenko became the first elected mayor in Ukraine's modern history, with a platform highlighting his work in restoring much of Kiev's historic buildings and renovating parts of downtown Kiev.

Omelchenko was a candidate in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, nominated by the Unity Party, which he formerly chaired. Omelchenko was the only candidate for President whose son was a deputy in the Ukrainian parliament. His program included the urgent withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Iraq. After the Orange Revolution, Omelchenko joined the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party but did not disband his old party.

He is the President of both the Association of the Cities of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Hockey Federation.