Petro Talanchuk

Petro Mykhaylovych Talanchuk (; born 1 July 1938) is a Ukrainian political and public figure. He holds a Doctor of Technical Sciences. He was rector of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (1987 to 1992) and the First Minister of Education of Ukraine (1992 to 1994).

Early life He was born on 1 July 1938 in the village of Horodyshche-Kosivske, which was then part of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. After graduating from the Rudosilska Secondary School, he worked on a kolkhoz entitled "Ukraina", and during this time served as an instructor of the Komsomol for the village of Volodarka. Upon returning to Ukraine, he entered the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where he majored in mechanical engineering, graduating in 1965. He served within the parliament until 1991, where he became an advocate for democartic reform and in February 1992 was appointed the first Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. As minister, he oversaw education reforms, and the creation of the national program "Education. Ukraine XXI Century".