Tereshchenko Michel Petrovich

French descendant of Ukrainian patrons who returned to his ancestors' homeland

Ukrainian-French entrepreneur and local politician. Descendant of the Ukrainian noble, industrialist, and patron family Tereshchenko. Father — Tereshchenko Petro Mykhailovych (1919-2004), a well-known scientist-chemist in France who developed technologies for producing biofuel from rapeseed. Michel's grandfather, Mykhailo Tereshchenko (1888-1956), was Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Russian Empire.

On March 21, 2015, President Poroshenko presented Michel with a Ukrainian passport. He founded the Tereshchenko Heritage Foundation to support buildings erected by the family in Kyiv and Hlukhiv over 100 years ago. In 2009, he founded the company "Linen of Desna." Under his leadership, "Linen of Desna" operates as the largest flax producer in Ukraine; the "Happy Flax" trademark; and LLC "Desnaland," a producer of honey, herbal teas, and hemp products. In October 2018, he sold the business growing flax and non-narcotic hemp.

Politics and struggle against the "mafia"

Mayor of Hlukhiv from 2015 to 2020. Tereshchenko claimed that the local deputy Derkach, who has administered Hlukhiv since 1998 under the guise of various parties — from "Labor Ukraine" to the Party of Regions and BPP — effectively "bought" all local factions. In October 2018, Tereshchenko announced his resignation as mayor to participate in the presidential elections. He was effectively mayor until 2020.