What is Alexander Lukashenko’s Net Worth?
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian leader, is alleged to have a net worth of $10 billion, though he denies these accusations and claims to have a modest net worth. He has been accused of enriching himself through hidden bank accounts in Switzerland or Dubai, dating back to at least 2006.
Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and is known for being an authoritarian leader who has rigged elections and violently suppressed dissidents. He has been labeled as Europe’s “last dictator” and is not recognized as the legitimate Belarusian president by the US, UK, or EU.
Alexander Lukashenko’s Early Life and Education
Alexander Lukashenko was born in 1954 in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was raised by a single mother who worked various jobs to support their family. Lukashenko attended Alexandria secondary school, graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute, and later obtained a degree from the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in 1985.
Early Career of Alexander Lukashenko
From 1975 to 1977, Lukashenko served in the Border Guard before joining the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He then led an All-Union Leninist Young Communist League chapter and served in the Soviet Army as a deputy political officer. Afterward, he became the deputy chairman of a collective farm and later the director of the Gorodets state farm and construction plant in Shklow. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected as Deputy to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus and subsequently named interim chairman of the Belarusian parliament’s anti-corruption committee due to his reputation for being tough on corruption, a position he held until 1994.
Alexander Lukashenko’s Rise to Power
In 1994, Alexander Lukashenko won the first-ever democratic presidential election in Belarus with 45.1% of the vote. He called for a referendum to create a Union State between Belarus and Russia, which was met with dispute. In 1996, deputies of the Belarusian parliament signed a petition to impeach Lukashenko, but he was able to amend the constitution to prevail. He subsequently assembled a new parliament of those loyal to him. Lukashenko took control of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and denounced foreign governments for conspiring against his country. In 2001, he was reelected and later abolished presidential term limits, ultimately winning reelection in 2006. Opposition groups protested the election, and the OSCE declared it failed to meet the standards of a free democratic election.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s Controversial Election History
In the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, two opposition candidates were beaten by police and opposition protestors attempted to storm the government building. Lukashenko won reelection, leading to the EU renewing its travel ban on him and his associates. Despite pushback, Lukashenko held on to power for a fifth term and advanced military relations with Russia.
Lukashenko’s sixth term in 2020 sparked mass protests in Belarus, with members of the European Parliament and other countries refusing to acknowledge him as the legitimate president. In 2021, Lukashenko claimed to have thwarted an assassination attempt with the help of Russian security services.
Alexander Lukashenko: The Richest Citizen in Belarus?
In 2006, according to cables released by Wikileaks, US diplomats believed that Alexander Lukashenko was the richest citizen in Belarus, with a personal net worth of at least $9 billion. The cables claimed that he was the richest of all the oligarchs in Belarus and cited a report that ranked the richest people.
A documentary produced by Poland-based opposition news service NEXTA alleged that Lukashenko has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on extremely luxurious personal mansions, private planes, and Rolls-Royces and Maybachs. The film claimed that he spent $250 million building his palace in Minsk and owns approximately 17 personal residences.
During a factory tour, Lukashenko denied being Belarus’ richest citizen with many palaces and said, “I did not steal anything from my state, I did not take anything.”
Alexander Lukashenko’s Authoritarian Rule
Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, has consolidated his power through autocratic decrees and rigged elections. He aims to keep many industries under government control and recover the Russification policies of the Soviet era. However, he violently cracks down on political dissidents and is known to subject them to torture, sexual assault, psychological abuse, and murder. In 2021, Belarusian secret services planned to assassinate dissidents abroad.
Lukashenko seeks to establish a Union State with Russia, but relations have eroded due to political and economic tensions. Despite this, he allowed Russian forces to invade Ukraine from Belarusian territory in 2022. Lukashenko promotes an authoritarian state and has named Hitler’s Nazi Germany as a model for the government of Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko’s Personal Life
Alexander Lukashenko married his high school sweetheart Galina Zhelnerovich in 1975, and they had two sons named Viktor and Dmitry in 1975 and 1980 respectively. However, they have been estranged since Lukashenko became president in 1994. Lukashenko had another son named Nikolai in 2004 from an extramarital affair.
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