Ihor Huz

Biography

Ihor Huz became a People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the VIII convocation (district #19, covering Novovolynsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Ivanychivskyi, and Liuboml districts; from the “People’s Front” party) and the IX convocation (district #19, Volyn region). He was elected Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning. He became a member of the “For the Future” parliamentary group. According to Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, the politician was part of the “Kolomoiskyi group” and the “friends of Palytsia.”

Timeline of Key Events

2025

He voted for the so-called “Ihor Mazepa Law” (project #12089). This legislative initiative essentially reflected the demands of unscrupulous business. The law provides for the “resetting” of claims against those who grabbed forest and coastal strips if 10 years have passed since the grab occurred and they fell into private hands. This means that all such grabs that occurred over the last decade can be legalized. If the 10-year term for the grab has not yet passed, then before filing a lawsuit to save the property, the value of the property desired to be returned must be placed on deposit from the state or local budget. Despite the fact that a petition demanding a veto on the law gathered over 25,000 signatures, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the document. The first victim of the “Ihor Mazepa Law” was the case concerning Protasiv Yar, which was defended by the late scout and Kyiv resident Roman Ratushnyi.

In the same year, he supported the scandalous project by Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, which abolished the Commercial Code of Ukraine (#6013). The initiators of this law declared an expansion of economic freedoms, but the Law abolished the fundamental norms of state-business interaction and the principles of managing economic activity in the state and communal sectors of the economy. A number of civic organizations emphasized that this law carries risks for national security and that its adoption would result in a large-scale redistribution of the country, given that the Verkhovna Rada had not approved a list of property exempt from privatization.

2024

He voted for bill #8371, which provided for a ban on the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations that have a governing centre in a state carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine.

2023

The People’s Deputy’s voting card failed to register during the first-reading vote on banning the Moscow Patriarchate. However, prior to that, Huz had argued with pro-Russian MP Artem Dmytruk, who called Huz a “schismatic,” making his position clear.

Huz abstained from voting for bill #7457 “On the Legalization of Medical Cannabis,” which allowed the production of medical cannabis in Ukraine for the rehabilitation of wounded military personnel, including for the treatment of PTSD. The adoption of the law was advocated by the “Patients of Ukraine” civic organization.

Also this year, the deputy joined an initiative group that signed an appeal to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada with a demand to bring to the agenda draft laws on stripping parliamentary mandates from members of pro-Russian parties, in particular the “Opposition Platform — For Life” (OPZZH). This appeal was supported by 15 of the 27 members of the relevant Committee on State Building and Local Self-Government, including representatives of various factions, among them Huz. However, despite significant support in the committee, the government-backed bill did not reach the agenda (#7476).

2022

The MP became one of 8 People’s Deputies who voted against the Istanbul Convention — the “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.”

In the same year, he voted for the urban planning “reform” #5655, authored by the head of the “Servant of the People” party, Olena Shuliak. The civic sector and media criticized this legislative initiative; the Royal Institute Chatham House (UK) emphasized that with such rules of the game, there are every chance for the emergence of construction cartels. The European Parliament warned President Zelenskyy against signing this law, and the European Commission also provided its critical remarks.

2021

He initiated Verkhovna Rada resolution #5674 on terminating all diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Belarus, except those concerning refugees and political prisoners. The statement provided for the non-recognition of the presidential election in Belarus and the condemnation of cooperation with terrorists from the so-called ORDLO.

In the same year, he joined the Temporary Investigative Commission to investigate potential crimes by state authorities that contributed to the violation of Ukraine’s state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

2020

He entered the top three most responsible parliamentarians according to the analytical portal Slovo i Dilo. Huz was considered one of the most responsible People’s Deputies in parliament — throughout his tenure, he missed only 16 sessions, which is three percent of the total number of working days.

2019

He was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate in district #19 (Volyn region), receiving 59% of the vote. He became Deputy Chairman of the Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning. He joined the “For the Future” parliamentary group.

2018

Following the vote on the law renaming the UOC-MP, a fight broke out in the Verkhovna Rada between deputies of the coalition and the “Opposition Bloc.” The conflict began when Nestor Shufrych demanded a re-vote and tore down a poster calling for the trial of Viktor Medvedchuk, after which he was attacked by Yurii Bereza. Huz supported Bereza. In the same year, Huz was included in the Russian Federation’s sanctions list.

In the same year, Huz, together with 11 other MPs, filed a lawsuit demanding the cancellation of the resolution of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC), which approved the electricity price based on the “Rotterdam+” formula. This formula had been in effect since 2016 and included the cost of coal at the port of Rotterdam plus shipping, which, according to the plaintiffs, illegally increased electricity costs and enriched Rinat Akhmetov’s DTEK group and the “ICU” company. The deputies pointed to violations of the decision-making procedure, inflated calculations, and a negative impact on the economy and utility tariffs for the population.

2017

District #19 of the Volyn region, represented by Huz, received about 26 million UAH in state subsidies for the socio-economic development of territories. A significant portion of these funds was directed toward purchasing computer equipment for schools from Roman Viktorovych Chypyniuk, an individual entrepreneur who is a deputy of the Ivanychi settlement council and had registered as an entrepreneur only in June of that same year. Chypyniuk won 14 of the 16 tenders conducted; in two cases, the auctions did not take place due to the participation of only one bidder. Chypyniuk’s wife, Anna Chypyniuk, had managed Ihor Huz’s public reception office since 2015. Huz himself noted that, as a deputy, he has no involvement in procurement, and the procedure is carried out through local self-government bodies or education departments subordinate to the relevant educational institutions.

In the same year, he became a co-chairman of the inter-factional association “For Energy Consumers’ Rights.” The aim of the association was to create a parliamentary platform for discussing the interaction between consumers and energy market participants with the state and to develop joint solutions.

2016

On Huz’s initiative, the Association of Local Self-Government of Prybuzhzhia began its work. The Association’s main goal was to promote the active implementation of decentralization reform, as well as to intensify international cooperation between Ukrainian local self-government bodies and various foreign communities.

That year, the politician was not allowed into Transnistria to meet with the diaspora.

2015

The politician founded the Huz “Prybuzhzhia” Foundation.

2014

He was a candidate for the XIII convocation of parliament in single-mandate district #19 from the “People’s Front” and won, receiving 30.69% of the vote. After being elected, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Before being elected to parliament, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Volyn Regional Council.

2013

He was one of the coordinators of the Lutsk Euromaidan and faced repression by the Yanukovych regime. He was suspected of hooliganism (for removing a portrait of the president from the regional council), calls for actions threatening public order, and the seizure of state or public buildings or structures. In total, three criminal cases were opened against the deputy.

In December of that year, the Lutsk City District Court ordered Huz to be placed under house arrest for 60 days with an electronic tag. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal of the Volyn region decided to soften the precautionary measure.

2012

In the parliamentary elections, he was a candidate from the “Batkivshchyna” party in electoral district #21 (Kovel city, Kovel, Ratne, Stara Vyzhivka, and Shatsk districts — Volyn region). Huz managed to secure only 39% of the vote. As an opposition candidate, he declared a hunger strike, demanding a fair vote count.

2011-2012

He worked as an assistant-consultant to People’s Deputy of Ukraine Viacheslav Kyrylenko.

2010

He was elected a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council from electoral district #27 (Stara Vyzhivka district) from the “For Ukraine!” party; he also ran on the party’s list. At that time, he worked as an advisor to the city mayor.

2007-2011

He was a staff advisor to the Lutsk City Mayor. He served as the head of the Family and Youth Affairs Department of the Lutsk City Council.

2006-2010

He was a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council. He was appointed Chairman of the permanent deputy commission on youth policy, sports, and tourism.

2006-2007

He served as Deputy Director of the “Lutsk-1432” Center for Municipal Reforms.

2005

Together with members of the “National Alliance,” he advocated for the overthrow of the Alexander Lukashenko regime. He participated in the “Chernobyl Way – 2005” protest in Minsk. The protest was suppressed by the Belarusian OMON (riot police), and the politician was arrested in a Minsk pre-trial detention center. All representatives of the “National Alliance” were deported from Belarus for 5 years.

In the same year, he became Chairman of the All-Ukrainian youth public organization “National Alliance.” He held this position until 2013.

2002

He became a deputy of the Lutsk City Council from district #44 from the Viktor Yushchenko electoral bloc “Our Ukraine.”

2002-2004

He was Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian organization “Youth Nationalist Congress.”

2001-2005

He was Chairman of the Volyn regional organization of the public organization “Youth Nationalist Congress.” Until 2002, he was the head of the Lutsk city organization of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists.

2001

He was a co-coordinator of the Volyn branch of the “For Truth!” committee. The “For Truth” committee demanded an open investigation into the crimes of “Kuchmism” and the introduction of European-style democracy in Ukraine.

In the same year, he participated in the “Ukraine Without Kuchma” campaign, taking part in the storming of a police cordon guarding Kuchma near the main building of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. For this, he and other students were beaten and detained by the “Berkut.” He spent several days in a pre-trial detention center. In total, following the campaign, Huz underwent about 10 interrogations by the SBU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

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