Andriy Shevchenko

Diplomatic career

In September 2015, Shevchenko was appointed Ukrainian ambassador to Canada.

From 2017 to 2021 he served as Ukraine's Representative to International Civil Organization (ICAO).

Shevchenko's posting coincided with the "golden" period in Ukraine-Canada relations:

the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada (CUFTA) was signed; the Canada-Ukraine Defence Cooperation Arrangement was signed; Canada included Ukraine in the AFCCL (Automatic Firearms Country Control List), which allowed supplies of weapons to Ukraine; first Canadian weapons contracts to Ukraine (PGW C14 Timberwolf sniper rifles);- Canadian Operation Unifier military training mission extended until 2019, and later 2022; Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau visited Ukraine, and Ukrainian Presidents Poroshenko and Zelensky visited Canada; Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty between Ukraine and Canada was signed; Canada hosted Ukraine Reform Conference.

Shevchenko served the longest ambassadorship in the history of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Canada. He finished his term as the European dean of the diplomatic corps in Canada.

Russian-Ukrainian War

After the full-scale Russian aggression, Shevchenko became a co-founder of Media Center Ukraine - a public initiative that brought together communication professionals to assist foreign journalists in covering the war.

The media center started its work in Lviv, later MCU hubs were opened in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa. The Media Center focuses on working with foreign journalists, facilitating effective communication between government, business, and the public sector, as well as creating an expert environment to develop effective communication strategies to help Ukraine win the war and recover afterward. According to MCU, about 4,000 media representatives passed through its accreditation.

In July 2022, Shevchenko's brother Yevhen Olefirenko ("Elvis"), a platoon commander of the Foreign Legion (I Separate Special Forces Brigade named after Ivan Bohun), died in a battle against the Russian troops near Bakhmut.