Politician, Ukrainian lawyer, diplomat, and civil servant.
Born on October 29, 1985, in Odesa.
Education
In 2008, Stefanishyna (née Kravets) graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in international law and a qualification as an English translator.
In 2016, she received a degree from Odesa National Economic University with a major in “finance and credit.”
Some media outlets also note that Stefanishyna studied at diplomatic academies in Vienna (Austria) and Tallinn (Estonia), but do not specify the nature of this training or the time period.
Career
While attending university, specifically from 2006 to 2007, Stefanyishyna worked in private legal practice.
However, while still a student, she began working at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in 2007. Initially, she worked in the Legal Support for European Integration Division within the Department for Legislative Adaptation, and from 2010 to 2015, she served as Deputy Director of the Department of International Law and Director of the Department of European Integration.
From March to December 2017, she headed the Government Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration within the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. And in December 2017, she was appointed director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration within the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers.
In 2019, she ran for the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation on the list of the "Groysman’s Ukrainian Strategy" party (she was listed as No. 25), but was unsuccessful.
She then returned to private legal practice and worked as a counsel at the law firm “Ilyashev & Partners” from January to June 2020.
On June 4, 2020, the Rada voted to appoint Stefanishyna as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. She served in this position for over four years—on September 4, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved her dismissal. The very next day, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Stefanishyna as Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration—Minister of Justice.
On July 16, 2025, following the resignation of the Shmyhal government, Olha Stefanishyna lost her posts and was appointed the President of Ukraine’s Representative for the Development of Cooperation with the United States the very next day.
On August 27, 2025, Stefanishyna was appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States.
Scandals
In October 2019, MP Olha Stefanishyna was charged with embezzlement or misappropriation of state funds on a particularly large scale as part of a group of individuals (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)—the so-called “Olena Lukash Case.” The investigation established that while working at the Ministry of Justice during Olena Lukash’s tenure, Stefanishyna was involved in a tender for research on Ukrainian legislation. The Ministry of Justice paid 2.5 million UAH for this project, and the cost of a single page of analysis ranged from 1,400 to 4,500 UAH. As the investigation by the “Our Money” project revealed, the contractors selected were individuals who lacked sufficient expertise for such research, while Ukrainian state research institutions had offered to conduct it free of charge. As of August 2025, no court verdict has been issued in this case.
In 2022, Stefanishyna’s name appeared in the case of Maksym Mykytas regarding an attempt to bribe Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov. In that case, Stefanishyna is mentioned in the context of the return of “UkrBud” assets. In the released recordings, Mykytas expressed confidence that Stefanishyna would support the scheme he proposed. The law firm “Ilyashev & Partners,” where Stefanishyna previously worked, is also involved in this case. Incidentally, in addition to Ukraine, this firm had offices in Russia, which were closed only after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In 2025, journalists from “Ukrainska Pravda” discovered that ARMA was transferring assets to the management of people close to Stefanyishyna, including her ex-husband, with whom the official continues to maintain ties despite their divorce. According to the journalists, Mykhailo Stefanishyn has held the “keys to ARMA” for over a year and acts as the agency’s shadow supervisor. In particular, a firm close to him will manage the Trade Union House on Independence Square.
That same year, investigators from “hromadske” discovered that Stefanishyna’s mother had purchased a three-bedroom apartment in the elite “Lvivska Ploshcha” residential complex in Kyiv for nearly four times less than the market price. The official’s mother paid 3 million hryvnias for the 100-square-meter apartment, even though the minimum price for a similar apartment at the time of purchase was 12 million. However, this apartment was not listed in Stefanishyna’s declaration.
On July 7, 2025, a video appeared on the Ministry of Justice’s official TikTok account showing ministry employees demonstrating that their phone lock screens featured a photo of their boss, Olga Stefanishyna. The video sparked widespread public outrage, and the minister began facing accusations of arrogance. Stefanishyna herself, commenting on the situation, stated that the “cringe video about wallpaper photos” was a joke created at the initiative of the ministry’s communications team.
Family
Mother – Nadiya Fedorivna Kravets (born 1952).
Ex-husband – Mykhailo Vasylovych Stefanishyn, a lawyer and civil servant. They divorced in 2017. As of 2018, he worked in the Cyberpolice Department.
Children: daughter Anastasia Mykhailivna and son Danylo Mykhailovych.
News about Olha Stefanishyna
