Constitution Day
День Конституції
Stamp of Ukraine commemorating the holiday
Observed byUkraine
TypeNational
SignificanceThe anniversary of the signing of the Ukrainian constitution of 1996
CelebrationsSpeeches by politicians[1][2]
Date28 June
Next time28 June 2024 (2024-06-28)
Frequencyannual

Constitution Day (Ukrainian: День Конституції) is a Ukrainian public holiday celebrated on 28 June since 1996.[3][4] It commemorates the anniversary of the approval by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) of the Constitution of Ukraine on 28 June 1996.[4][5]

History

Immediately after taking office as President of Ukraine, after winning the 1994 Ukrainian presidential election, Leonid Kuchma created the Constitutional Commission, which led to the adoption of a constitution of Ukraine in 1996.[6] (At the time the 1978 Constitution of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was in force in Ukraine.[7]) The Constitution was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada at 9:20 am on 28 June 1996 after deputies had worked all day and all night on the project, remaining in the session hall without breaks.[8] 315 people's deputies, out of a needed 300, voted for the adoption of the Basic Law.[8] Constitution Day did become a public holiday in Ukraine because its foundation was enshrined in the constitution itself (it is the only public holiday that is mentioned in the constitution).[9] Soviet Constitution day (7 October) was never observed in the Ukrainian SSR (the predecessor of modern Ukraine).[10]

References

  1. ^ Ukraine marks Constitution Day on June 28, UNIAN (28 June 2018)
  2. ^ Ukraine's leaders congratulate Ukrainians on Constitution Day, Interfax-Ukraine (28 June 2018)
  3. ^ Ukraine celebrating 20th anniversary of Constitution, UNIAN (28 June 2016)
    Yulia Tymoshenko Goes On Trial A Day Before Constitution Day, Eurasia Daily Monitor (30 July 2011)
  4. ^ a b 1996: THE YEAR IN REVIEW Archived 2017-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, The Ukrainian Weekly (29 December 1996)
  5. ^ Ukraine marks Constitution Day Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrinform (28 June 2014)
  6. ^ Warshaw, Shirley Anne (2009). The Clinton Years. Infobase Publishing. (page 191)
  7. ^ (in Ukrainian) Ukraine celebrates Constitution Day today, RBC Ukraine (28 June 2021)
  8. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) The Constitution of Ukraine is 25 years old! Unusual facts about the main document that few people know, RBC Ukraine (27 June 2021)
  9. ^ (in Ukrainian) See how the Constitution of Ukraine was adopted 25 years ago: historical photos, RBC Ukraine (28 June 2021)
  10. ^ The Ukrainian Resurgence by Bohdan Nahaylo, University of Toronto Press, 1999, ISBN 0802079776 (page 402)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Constitution Day in Ukraine.


Public holidays in Ukraine
Categories