Former Odessa Mayor Leonid Chernega has passed away

Leonid Chernega, former chairman of the Odesa City Council, has died at the age of 83. He served as chairman of the city council and the Odesa Executive Committee from 1992 to 1994.

This was reported by the Odesa City Council. 

Leonid Chernega was born on February 8, 1944. He received his education at the Odessa Institute of National Economy. He then worked at the Kislorodmash plant, where he rose through the ranks from designer to shop foreman.

Later, Leonid Cherneha served as second secretary of the Illichivsk District Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and headed the Illichivsk District Executive Committee of Odessa. He also served as deputy chairman of the Odessa City Executive Committee under Valentin Symonenko.

In March 1992, Leonid Cherneha took over as head of the City Council and the Executive Committee after the previous leader became the President of Ukraine’s representative in the Odesa region. In the council election, Cherneha won by a narrow margin of 27 votes.

In the first direct mayoral election in Odesa in 1994, he ran for mayor but lost to Eduard Gurvits and Oleksiy Kostusev. After leaving city government, Leonid Cherneha moved into the private sector. He served as vice president of the “Mirmex” group and later headed one of Odesa’s construction companies.

Юлія Калабайда