Ivan Verbytskyi

Ivan Verbytskyi
Іван Вербицький
Verbytskyi in 2026
First Deputy Minister of Culture
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2026
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime Minister
Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications
In office
25 September 2025 – 5 May 2026
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterYulia Svyrydenko
Personal details
Born (1994-06-07) 7 June 1994 (age 32)
Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

Ivan Ivanovych Verbytskyi (Ukrainian: Іван Іванович Вербицький; born 7 June 1994) is a Ukrainian politician and activist who is currently serving as First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine since 5 May 2026.

Biography

Verbytskyi was born in a religious Orthodox Christian family in Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast. He graduated from the faculty of politology and got a doctorate of sociology at the Kyiv-Mohyla university. After graduation he moved to Kyiv, where he actively participated in LGBTQ+ activism, helping with the organisation of KyivPride. Verbytskyi participated in the Maidan in 2013–2014.

From 2019 to 2024, he was the head of the CEDOS think tank, which won the New European Bauhaus Prize 2024. From 2015 to 2019, he was managing the urban platform Mistosite and the "Ukrainian Urban Forum". Verbytskyi participated in the Council of Europe projects regarding development of the Concept of Integrated Development of the Podilskyi District of Kyiv. In August 2022, he became a co-founder of the "Passazhyry Kyieva" (Passengers of Kyiv) public initiative, their goal being to consolidate the efforts of transport specialists, activists, and passengers in order to improve public transportation in Kyiv.

On 25 September 2025, Verbytskyi was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine. He deals with issues of cultural heritage preservation, including the evacuation and return of museum exhibits due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the overall optimization of the process.

On 7 November 2025, as strategic communications were separated from the Ministry of Culture, Verbytskyi's position was changed to Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine.

On 5 May 2026, Verbytskyi became the First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine.

Personal life

Verbytskyi publicly came out as gay in a Facebook post in 2019, which makes him the first openly gay government officeholder in Ukraine. Verbytskyi's sexual orientation became the main emphasis of a number of Ukrainian media outlets, including Suspilne, when announcing his appointment as a deputy minister, which caused a wave of criticism. Suspilne later apologized for emphasising Verbytskyi's homosexuality and edited their report about him, as it did not follow their journalistic principles of non-discrimination and neutrality.

References

  1. 1 2 Kitsoft. "Кабінет Міністрів України – Про призначення Вербицького І. І. заступником Міністра культури та стратегічних комунікацій України". www.kmu.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 "«До Берліна майже як до Грозного». Рік тому Іван з релігійної родини зробив публічний камінг-аут. Як змінилося його життя?". bit.ua Медіа про життя і технології в ньому. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 "У Мінкульті з'явився новий заступник міністра: чим він займатиметься | Еспресо". espreso.tv. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Матвейчук, Мар'яна (5 July 2021). "Хто такі київські урбаністи? Аналітичний центр Cedos". Хмарочос (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 Роксолана, Поковба (27 September 2025). "Уряд призначив Вербицького заступником міністра культури". Букви (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Дар'я, Крутько (23 August 2022). "Київські урбаністи заснували ініціативу «Пасажири Києва» для покращення громадського транспорту". Хмарочос (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Кабацій, Марія (1 December 2025). "Що відбувається з евакуацією культурних цінностей на 4-му році війни". Суспільне | Новини (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Berezhna sets 2025 deadline for culture ministry separation". Interfax-Ukraine. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "Verkhovna Rada appoints Tetyana Berezhna as Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy Minister of Culture". LB.ua. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Кабінет міністрів перейменував Мінкульт: як тепер називається відомство". Українські Національні Новини (УНН) (in Ukrainian). 31 October 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Ivan Verbytskyi". Міністерство культури України. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "У попередньому тексті ми зробили некоректний акцент. Перепрошуємо за помилку!". facebook.com. 27 September 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Суспільне перепросило за новину про призначення в Мінкульт Івана Вербицького через порушення своїх стандартів". КИЇВ24 (in Ukrainian). 30 September 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.