Who became Prosecutor General on 17 March 2020?
A retrospective on the parliamentary approval and presidential appointment of Iryna Venediktova, made as a nationwide quarantine was under way.
Who was put in charge of Ukraine's prosecution service on 17 March 2020? That day the Verkhovna Rada approved Iryna Venediktova as Prosecutor General, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed her to the post.
The appointment required two steps: parliamentary consent and a presidential decision. Both were completed on the same date, so the post was filled in a single day.
The timing stands out because of the wider situation. On 11 March 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers had introduced a nationwide quarantine because of the coronavirus outbreak in the world. It ran from 12 March to 3 April. Mass events of more than 200 people were banned, and kindergartens and educational institutions were closed.
So the appointment took place while the government was dealing with the outbreak and its restrictions. The two decisions were separate: one concerned public health measures, the other a key law-enforcement position. Taken together, they show state institutions continuing to make major personnel decisions while the quarantine was in force.
