Belfer Center Senior Fellow
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine, member of Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe
Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba is a Ukrainian politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2020-2024); and is now non-resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, since 2024.
Mr Kuleba was one of the most visible and efficient members of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s team since the Russian invasion in Ukraine started. The youngest foreign affairs minister in Ukraine’s history, he led Ukraine’s diplomacy through its most challenging times during Russian aggression. He played a key role in building alliances, securing arms, imposing sanctions, advancing Ukraine’s EU and NATO bids, and expanding ties with Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
As the nation’s top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba demonstrated exceptional skill as an articulate communicator of his country's interests and narratives. Under his leadership, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry excelled in wartime communications and became the first in the world to introduce AI-driven spokesperson. In September 2024, his tenure as Minister came to conclusion.
He is the author of “The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities” – in this book, he focuses on how information warfare is relevant in today’s life of a person and global society. He identifies five basic rules that help to win it. This work acts as a guide for personal data protection, critical thinking, and resisting manipulation in the age of internet and mass digitization.
In 2024, some of the world’s leading public figures, foreign policy experts, writers, historians, and other notable contributors agreed to contribute their essays to Dmytro’s book “War and New Horizons”. It is a forward-looking collection that examines Ukraine’s role in shaping the future of the world. Among the most famous authors of essays are Anne Applebaum, Ban Ki-moon, Sergiy Plokhii, Condoleezza Rice, Nassim Taleb, Timothy Snyder, Samantha Power and Boris Johnson.
In 2003, Dmytro Kuleba graduated with honors from Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv, Ukraine), where he studied international law. In 2006, he obtained a Ph.D. in International Law.
From 2003 to 2010, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the OSCE. He also worked at the office of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2013 in charge of the issues related to the reputation of Ukraine abroad, international organizations, and relations with the United States. In January-June 2013, Dmytro served as advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for Humanitarian Affairs.
After leaving the civil service in 2013, he chaired the Board of the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy. In 2014, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry’s work.
In 2016, Mr Kuleba was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe. From August 2019 to March 2020, he served as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. He became the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 4 March 2020.
