You're reading: Factbox: Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma

Ukraine's state prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday it had opened a criminal case against former president Leonid Kuchma over the murder of investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze in 2000.

Here are some key facts about Kuchma:

KUCHMA AS PRESIDENT:

– Kuchma successfully challenged Leonid Kravchuk for the presidency in 1994. He held the post for two terms until 2005.

– In foreign policy, he sought to steer a middle course between Ukraine’s powerful neighbour Russia and the West, often playing one off against the other.

– Kuchma implemented broad economic reforms such as privatisation, the introduction of the hryvnia national currency and abolishing controls over prices and foreign trade. His rule marked a turnaround in the economy which started growing after a long period of decline.

– A new class of wealthy and influential businessmen emerged under Kuchma and among them were people close to him such as his son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk, who controls assets in sectors from heavy industry to media, and Volodymyr Boiko, once the key shareholder of the Ilyich steel plant.

LIFE DETAILS:

– Kuchma was born in August 1938 and graduated in rocket engineering. In Soviet times he rose to become director of a strategic missile-building factory in eastern Ukraine.

– After Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, Kuchma was was later appointed prime minister by Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first democratically elected president.

– Kuchma clashed with Kravchuk over economic policies and resigned from the post after just one year — and later successfully challenged him for the presidency.