Sergei Sobolev

Serhiy Vladyslavovych Sobolyev (; born 5 September 1961, in Zaporizhia) is a Ukrainian politician. He served in the Ukrainian parliament from 1990 to 1998 and then again from 2002, with a brief interruption in 2006–2007. In 2014 he was acting Batkivshchyna faction leader.

Education

Sobolev graduated from the Zaporozhye State Pedagogical Institute (now – Zaporizhzhya National University in 1983 with a specialty in History, before earning a second degree from the Law School at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1996.

Career Early career

His work experience began in 1978, at the Zaporozhye defense plant "Gamma". He was a member of the Committee on Legal Policy and Legal Reform and deputy chairman of the audit committee of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on privatization.

On 20 March 2014 Sobolev replaced Yatsenyuk as Batkivshchyna faction leader in parliament (due to Yatsenyuk's new position as prime minister in the Yatsenyuk Government).

Legislative initiatives

Following annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Sobolev drafted a bill "On the rights and freedoms of citizens in the temporarily occupied territories" that postulated that Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol should be regarded as "temporarily occupied by Russia". The original bill would permit entry and exit from the Crimea only with a special permit and punish "cooperation with the occupying state" with imprisonment. On 15 April 2014 the amended bill passed.

Family

His father is Vladislav Anatoliyvych (1935–) a worker at Zaporozhye aluminum plant and Head of DST. His mother is Ina Mikolayivna (1935-) a retired pediatrician. His wife Nina (1962-) is a history teacher. They have five children – Julia (1983), Elena (1986) another son and twins.

He is fond of football, tennis and skiing and is fluent in English.

Recognition

In March 2000, he was recognized as a civil servant of the third rank.

He was awarded Commander of the Order of merit III degree in August 2005.