Hennadiy Lahuta

Hennadiy Mykolayovych Lahuta (Геннадій Миколайович Лагута; 10 August 1974 – 17 September 2023) was a Ukrainian politician who served as the governor of Kherson Oblast from 26 October 2021 to 9 July 2022. Lahuta was removed from office by the Russian military on 26 April 2022 during the Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast. He was removed from office by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 9 July, replacing him with Dmytro Butriy. He was a member of the We Have to Live Here party headed by the mayor of Kherson Ihor Kolykhaiev.

Political career
In the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, Lahuta was elected to the Chaplynka village council for the People's Party.

Lahuta was elected in the 2015 Ukrainian local elections into the Kherson Oblast Council for Opposition Bloc.

Lahuta was re-elected into the Kherson Oblast Council in the 2020 Ukrainian local elections for the local party We Have to Live Here.

Lahuta ran for the Verkhovna Rada (the national parliament of Ukraine) in the October 2021 early elections, to replace the mandate of Ihor Kolykhaiev. Kolykhaiev had given back his mandate won in constituency 184 (first past the post) in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election to focus on his role as mayor of Kherson. Lahuta was the candidate of the party, led by Kolykhaiev, We Have to Live Here. Lahuta had been an assistant of Kolykhaiev in parliament. In the election campaign he withdraw his candidacy in favor of then Governor of Kherson Oblast Serhiy Kozyr of the party Servant of the People. In October 2021, Kozyr was elected into parliament, winning 62.6% of the vote (21,365 votes) Kozyr left the office of Governor on 26 October, being replaced by Lahuta.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Immediately, Russian forces invaded Kherson Oblast, resulting in multiple Russian victories. On 2 March, Russian forces captured Kherson, the capital of the oblast. beginning a military occupation of the region. Lahuta was removed as Governor by the Russian occupation forces on 26 April 2022. Vladimir Saldo was officially appointed head of Kherson military-civilian administration by the Russian military on 26 April 2022. Lahuta was officially removed from office by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 9 July, replacing him with Dmytro Butriy.

Death
Hennadiy Lahuta died in Kyiv on 17 September 2023, at the age of 49.