Who Is The Real President Of Belarus? How Long Has Lukashenko Been In Power?

The real President of Belarus is Alexander Lukashenko since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994, making him the longest-serving and longest current serving European president.

Lukashenko has been in power for 28 years.

Before his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm and served in the Soviet Border Troops and in the Soviet Army.

Lukashenko continued state ownership of key industries in Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and retained important Soviet-era symbolism.

Lukashenko was given more power with the ability to dismiss the Supreme Soviet of Belarus and another referendum in 1996 allowed Lukashenko to further consolidate power.

The Russian language was also given the same status as Belarusian, and economic ties with Russia were strengthened, which furthermore led to the creation of the Union State with Russia, which allows Belarusians to freely travel to, work, and study in Russia, and vice versa.

However, relations with Russia have not always run smoothly under his tenure, such as during the Milk War.