Alexander Lukashenko

Background

Alexander Lukashenko is the president of Belarus and serves as moderator and chair of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, the integration body linking Belarus and Russia. In that capacity, he helps oversee high-level coordination on political, legal, economic, and cross-border matters between the two countries. His role remains important in Russian affairs because Belarus is Russia’s closest formal ally in the post-Soviet space and a key partner in regional security, transport, and diplomatic coordination.

Born on 30 August 1954 in Kopys, Lukashenko began his career outside national politics. He worked as director of a state farm and served in both the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army before entering public office. In 1990, he was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union he became head of the interim anti-corruption committee of the Supreme Council of Belarus. He won Belarus’s first presidential election in 1994 after the adoption of a new constitution and has remained in office ever since.

Lukashenko has been associated with the preservation of a heavily state-directed economic model and with the retention of Soviet-era symbols and institutions in Belarus, including the Russian language and revised national emblems adopted after a 1995 referendum. He also acquired expanded presidential powers after referendums in 1995 and 1996, and international monitors have not regarded most Belarusian elections under his rule as free and fair. Over time, he became increasingly tied to Russia, helped advance the Union State project, and played a notable role in regional events including the 2023 Wagner Group rebellion aftermath and continued Belarusian-Russian political coordination.

Timeline

1. Feb 26, 2026

   Lukashenko and Putin signed a package of Union State documents, including directives on mutual legal protection, cross-border rail links, and the creation of a new Standardisation and Quality Committee.

   Meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State
2. Feb 26, 2026

   Lukashenko took part in the Supreme State Council meeting in Moscow that marked 30 years of Russian-Belarusian integration.

   Meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State