Belarusisk utmanare: Har tvingats gömma mina barn

Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (Russian: Алекса́ндр Григо́рьевич Лукаше́нко, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ɫʊkɐˈʂɛnkə]) or Aliaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka (Belarusian: Алякса́ндр Рыго́равіч Лукашэ́нка, IPA: [alʲaˈksand(a)r rɨˈɣɔravʲitʂ lukaˈʂɛnka]; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician, who has served as President of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994. Before launching his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a collective farm (kolkhoz), and served in the Soviet Border Troops and in the Soviet Army. He was the only deputy of the Belarusian parliament to vote against the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. Lukashenko opposed Western-backed shock therapy during the post-Soviet transition. He has supported state ownership of key industries in Belarus. Lukashenko's government has also retained much of the country's Soviet-era symbolism, especially those that are related to victory in World War II.Lukashenko heads an authoritarian regime in Belarus. Elections are not free and fair, opponents of the regime are repressed, and the media is not free. Since 2006, the European Union and the United States have repeatedly imposed and lifted sanctions on Lukashenko and on other Belarusian officials for human rights violations.