Anastasia Deeva (aka Anastasia Deyeva, Анастасія Дєєва in Ukrainian) is a former model and a Ukrainian politician and diplomat. In November 2016, Deeva was appointed as a Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. She became the youngest person to hold the post of deputy minister in Ukraine.
Deeva’s appointment for one of the top government positions created international headlines. International media outlets such as the BBC and the New York Times ran stories featuring her.
Nearly after a week after her appointment for the ministerial position, Deeva’s naked photos surfaced online and were picked up by tabloids in Ukraine and abroad. Because of that, she suffered a social media backlash and uproar in Ukraine, and her credentials to be appointed as a Deputy Minister were also questioned by her critics.
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 | NATIVE NAME: | Анастасія Дєєва | |||
 | BIRTHDAY: | 2 March 1992 | |||
 | BIRTHPLACE: | Kiev, Ukraine | |||
 | EDUCATION: | MA (political science) | |||
 | PROFESSION: | Diplomat, Politician | |||
 | HEIGHT: | 5’ 8” | |||
 | HUSBAND: | George Deeva | |||
 | NATIONALITY: | Ukrainian | |||
 | ETHNICITY: | Caucasian | |||
 | RELIGION: | Christian | |||
 | SALARY: | Not Known | |||
 | CHILDREN: | None (as of 2016) | |||
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Early Life & Education
Anastasia Deeva was born on 2 March 1992 in Kyiv, Ukraine. She attended the prestigious Klovsky Lyceum school and graduated with a high school degree in 2009. In the same year, she joined the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University and completed a Bachelor’s and subsequently a Master’s Degree. In 2015, she graduated from the university with a Master’s Degree in Political Science and Government.
Deeva has said in interviews that she had to start working early and actively as there was a family to support financially. Reportedly, she pursued her studies and took up several jobs at the same time.
Deeva is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian and has sufficient working proficiency in French.
Diplomatic Career
In an interview with Pravda, a Russian-language news outlet in Ukraine, Deeva revealed that in January 2015 she received a phone call from Eka Zguladze, who was the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine since December 2014. Zguladze requested Deeva to join her team and contribute to police reform initiatives in the country. Deeva accepted the offer and worked as Executive Assistant of Zguladze till May 2016. Deeva was involved in initiating a patrol police reform program and worked to improve the civil emergency service in Ukraine.
In the interview with Pravda, Deeva said that Zguladze called her for that job because there was a coordination problem at the ministry, especially with international organizations, donors, embassies and other international partners. Her tasks at the Foreign Ministry also included preparing project proposals, monitoring the implementation of projects, helping move the reform programs ahead, organising training programs and so forth.
Anastasia Deeva & Controversies
Anastasia Deeva’s appointment as a Deputy Minister created an uproar in Ukraine. She was accused of being unfit for the job. Critics mainly said that she didn’t have the experience of 10 years required for her portfolio. Many online commenters also accused she had been appointed for her looks, rather than her experience or abilities. “The issue is not her nude photos,” Ukrainian parliament’s deputy speaker Iryna Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook, “The main problem is she was picked without a public competition or government discussions over the assignment.”
However, in an interview with the Russian Press, Deeva claimed that she had the appropriate credentials and experience needed for the job. In addition, she said that she certainly expected personal attacks to be hurled against her, but said that she did not expect that they would be so vicious. Deeva also said that her repeated stints at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had given her an understanding of what diplomacy was and that she sufficiently knew how to work with international instruments, how to develop programs, and strategies, and what diplomatic etiquette was.
Anastasia Deeva is married to George Deeva.Amidst the controversy surrounding her experience and abilities, several naked photos of her surfaced on the internet. Despite widespread controversy, senior political figures in Ukraine, mainly belonging to the ruling party, including Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, defended her saying that the pictures were ‘private’ and were taken years ago when she was a student.
In the wake of the scandal, her husband, George Deeva, threatened to take legal actions against media outlets that had breached into their private lives.
Personal Life
Anastasia Deeva is married to George Deeva. She says that she is a sports enthusiast. She also practices yoga and loves travelling. She also says in interviews that she is fond of eating healthy and loves Swedish culture. Deeva has a sister and mother.
