| Ihor Palytsia | |
| Office: | Member of the Verkhovna Rada |
| Termstart: | 29 August 2019 |
| Office1: | Chairman of the Volyn Oblast Council |
| Termstart1: | 26 November 2015 |
| Termend1: | 26 July 2019 |
| Predecessor1: | Valentyn Viter |
| Successor1: | Iryna Vakhovych |
| Office2: | Governor of Odesa Oblast |
| Term Start2: | 6 May 2014 |
| Term End2: | 30 May 2015 |
| Predecessor2: | Volodymyr Nemyrovsky |
| Successor2: | Mikheil Saakashvili |
| Office3: | Member of the Verkhovna Rada |
| Termstart3: | 23 November 2007 |
| Termend3: | 6 May 2014 |
| Birth Date: | 10 December 1972[1] |
| Birth Place: | Lutsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Party: | UKROP (2015-2020) For the Future (since 2020) |
| Children: | Mariia Palytsia, Zakhar Palytsia |
| Native Name Lang: | uk |
Ihor Petrovych Palytsia (uk|Ігор Петрович Палиця; born 10 December 1972) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician. From May 2014 until May 2015[2] he worked as Governor of Odesa Oblast.[3] [4] In November 2015 Palytsia was elected chairman of the Volyn Oblast regional parliament. In the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia won a seat as an independent candidate.[5] In parliament he joined the For the Future faction.[5]
Palytsia was born 10 December 1972 in Lutsk.[1] In 1994, he graduated from the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University in his place of birth.[1] Since 1993 he has been a businessman and he was a board member of (the national oil and gas company of Ukraine) Naftogaz from 2003 till 2007.[1] Palytsia unsuccessfully took part in the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election for the Peasant Party of Ukraine.[6] The party won 0,31% of the votes.[7]
In the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia was elected MP (as #68 on the party list) of Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc.[1] In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election he was elected with 40.27% of the votes in simple-majority constituency #22 (situated in Lutsk) as a non-party affiliate.[8] He did not enter any faction in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament).
Palytsia was appointed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Governor of Odesa Oblast on 6 May 2014, 4 days after the 2 May 2014 Odesa clashes that killed more than 40 people.[4] [3] [9]
In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia was again re-elected into parliament; this time after placing 34th on the electoral list of Petro Poroshenko Bloc.[10] [11] He stayed on as Governor till 30 May 2015 when President Poroshenko appointed Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of Odesa Oblast.[12] [13]
In July 2015 Palytsia became a member of the political council of the party UKROP.[14] On 26 November 2015 he was elected chairman of the Volyn Oblast regional parliament.[14] [15]
In the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Palytsia won a seat as an independent candidate.[5] In parliament he joined the For the Future faction.[5] May 2020 Palytsia was elected chairman of the For the Future party. According to Palytsia For the Future is de facto a continuation of UKROP.[16]
In the spring of 2014, the Ukrainian press mentioned Palytsia as being close to Ukrainian oligarch (and then fellow Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast[17]) Ihor Kolomoyskyi.[18] [3] [19] He was a key figure in providing financial backing for the establishment of 18th Marine Bataillon providing equipment to it on a personal expense.[20] In August 2021 Ukrainska Pravda reported that Palytsia and Kolomoyskyi no longer shared business assets.[21]