Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Міністерство внутрішніх справ України, MVS) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. The ministry carries out state policy for the protection of rights and liberties of citizens, investigates unlawful acts against the interest of society and state, fights crime, provides civil order, ensures civil security and traffic safety, and guarantees the security and protection of important individuals. It is a centralised agency headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry works closely with the office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. It oversees the National Police of Ukraine (police service), National Guard of Ukraine (gendarmerie), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (civil defense), State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (and its subordinate the Ukrainian Sea Guard) and the State Migration Service (customs service).

Formerly, the ministry directly controlled the Ukrainian national law enforcement agency, termed the militsiya (міліція, Russian: милиция). This changed in July 2015, in the aftermath of Euromaidan, with the introduction of reforms by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko to reduce corruption, whereby the militsiya was replaced with the National Police. Ukraine's militsiya was widely regarded as corrupt, and it had received accusations of torture and ill-treatment. The State Emergency Service was transferred under the jurisdiction of the ministry since 2014.

Name

 * People's Committee of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1919–1930, regional autonomous agency)
 * State Political Directorate of the Ukrainian SSR (1930–1934, part of the Joint State Political Directorate of USSR)
 * People's Committee of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1934–1946, part of the People's Committee of Internal Affairs of USSR)
 * Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1946–1991, part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of USSR)
 * Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (since 1991, a government agency of the independent Ukraine)

Ministerial institutions

 * Central office (in Kyiv)

Sub-departments (central offices of executive authority)

 * National Guard of Ukraine
 * National Police of Ukraine
 * Special Tasks Patrol Police
 * State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
 * Ukrainian Sea Guard
 * State Emergency Service of Ukraine
 * State Migration Service of Ukraine

Medical

 * Central hospital (in Kyiv)
 * Hospital of Rehabilitative Treatment (in Kyiv)
 * Military-medical commissions

Educational

 * National Academy of Internal Affairs
 * National Academy of National Guard of Ukraine
 * Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs
 * Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs
 * Didorenko State University of Internal Affairs of Luhansk
 * Lviv State University of Internal Affairs
 * Odesa State University of Internal Affairs
 * Donetsk Justice Institute

Ministers of Internal Affairs
The minister of internal affairs is in charge of the ministry. Prior to the 2015 police reforms, the minister was recognized as head of the militsiya. Many former ministers previously had experience with serving in the police, and were, prior to taking up the ministerial post, generals of the militsiya. Typically, the minister was afforded the rank of Colonel-General of the militsiya upon taking up his post in the Ukrainian government. Yuriy Lutsenko and Vasyl Tsushko are the only former holders of this office who had never served in any law enforcement agency.

The minister of Internal Affairs is responsible directly to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, to the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and ultimately the President of Ukraine. His office is located in Kyiv's Pechersk District.