Maryna Poroshenko

Maryna Anatolyivna Poroshenko (Ukrainian: Марина Анатоліївна Порошенко, née Perevedentseva; born February 1, 1962) is the First Lady of Ukraine and the wife of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Maryna Poroshenko was born as Maryna Perevedentseva (Ukrainian: Марина Анатоліївна Переведенцева) in 1962 in Kiev, Ukraine. Her father Anatoly (born 1933) was Deputy Minister of Health of the Ukrainian SSR. Her mother Lyudmyla worked at Kiev Arsenal.

While studying at the Bogomolets National Medical University, she met Petro Poroshenko at a disco. They married in 1984. She worked as a cardiologist at the Zhovtneva Hospital until the birth of their first son, and after that, she devoted her time to her family. She does not take part in public life and does not discuss politics with her husband. She participates in the activities of the Petro Poroshenko Charity Foundation.

In a June 2014 televised interview, Maryna said that she plans to engage in social and cultural issues currently facing Ukraine. Late June 2014 she met with Iryna Herashchenko, an envoy to the Peace plan for Eastern Ukraine and a mediator in the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine. They discussed possible assistance to the people in Eastern Ukraine.

The couple has four children: son Olexiy (born 1985), twin daughters Yevheniya and Oleksandra (born 2000) and son Mykhaylo (born 2001). The family continues to live in their private home in the historic neighborhood of Koncha-Zaspa. Olexiy was a representative in the regional parliament of Vinnytsia Oblast. In November 2014, he became People's Deputy of Ukraine.

Former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko is the godfather to their children.

The Ukrainian people are proud to have Maryna Poroshenko as their First Lady and consider her to be "a breath of fresh air." According to a discussion on the Ukrainian TV show 1+1, Marina is charming, well spoken, educated, and represents a modern, democratic Ukraine. The Ukrainian people expect the First Lady to serve as a liaison between the common people and the political, male dominated Ukraine. They expect her to be involved in social issues of Ukraine and to be a helpmate to her husband in the international arena as she represents Ukraine to the international community.