Cabinet appoints openly gay man as Deputy Minister of Culture

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved Ivan Verbytskyi as Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications.

It was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.

In his new position, Verbytskyi will be responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, the development of the museum industry, and will also control the processes of export, import and return of cultural values.

Ivan Verbytskyi is known as a human rights activist and an open representative of the LGBTQ+ community - he publicly announced his orientation in June 2019.

The newly appointed official has extensive experience in the field of analytics, urban planning and culture. In 2019–2024, he headed the Cedos think tank, which won the New European Bauhaus Prize in 2024.

Before that, in 2015–2019, Verbytskyi headed the urban platform Mistosite and organized the Ukrainian Urban Forum. He also collaborated with the Council of Europe and participated in the development of the Concept of Integrated Development of the Podilskyi District of Kyiv.

Earlier, Ukraine officially recognized the marriage relationship of two gay people. The court stated that this is provided for by the Constitution.