«I was too independent and inconvenient»: Kremin explains why he was not nominated for a second term as language ombudsman

Taras Kremin. Photo: personal Facebook page

The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin, said that he considers his «inconvenience and independence» the main reasons why he was not re-nominated for the post.

In an interview with «Glavkom», Taras Kremin reminded that according to the law, the language ombudsman must act independently of other state bodies. And this, according to him, was a source of discomfort for some of the authorities.

«I was independent and inconvenient because I pointed out shortcomings in the implementation of the state language policy, proposed too many initiatives,» he said.

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Taras Kremin said that over the course of five years, he had repeatedly raised issues that the authorities had long ignored. In particular, he insisted on the adoption of the state language programme, which was supposed to appear in 2020 but was adopted only in 2024. He also initiated the decommunisation of the names of geographical objects and courts, proposed changes to the law on advertising, and supported the idea of introducing language exams for citizenship applicants.

According to Taras Kremin, his candidacy was not considered not only because of his position, but also because the authorities were not interested in maintaining an independent figure as language ombudsman.

«Apparently, my too obvious independence was the reason why none of the nominating entities nominated me... They did not even offer me to take part in this competition... Although I have an open relationship with Mykola Tochytskyi (Minister of Culture, — note) I have an open relationship with Mykola Tochytskyi, he supported my initiative to resume the activities of the Department of State Language Policy at the Ministry, as well as to resume the work of the expert group under the Prime Minister, etc.», Taras Kremin is sure.

It should be noted that Taras Kremin's term of office ends on 8 July 2025. The law allows for a second term in office, but officials have proposed new candidates who, as noted in the appeal, do not have the relevant experience or have already refused to participate in the competition.

The third President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, publicly expressed his support for the current Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin.

Also, more than 30 cultural figures appealed to the government to re-elect Taras Kremin. They also emphasise that Taras Kremin and his team have created an effective body from scratch that effectively prevents violations of language legislation and interacts with the authorities and the public.

Taras Kremin thanked the cultural workers for their support and noted that he was interested in continuing his work.

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice has nominated actor Oleksandr Zavalskyi for the position of Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language.