Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine's wartime leader who became a hero to UK politicians

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Britain on Wednesday where he received a hero's welcome from politicians in Westminster.

The rare foreign visit is his first appearance on British soil since the outbreak of war in February last year.

Mr Zelenskyy, 45, developed a strong rapport with former prime minister Boris Johnson after Russia's invasion, and has previously expressed gratitude for Britain's extensive military and economic support.

While he has welcomed numerous foreign leaders to Kyiv — including US President Joe Biden and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen — Mr Zelenskyy's trips abroad are far less common, owing to the difficult situation on Ukraine's front line.

An enthusiastic communicator, Mr Zelenskyy has been an ever-present figure during the conflict, delivering a nightly address to his citizens and making regular appeals to international audiences via video link.

He has previously addressed the UN Security Council and Davos, as well as events such as the Grammys and the Golden Globes in an attempt to drum up broad global support.

Who is Volodymyr Zelenskyy?

Mr Zelenskyy was born to Jewish parents in 1978 in the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union.

A grandson of a soldier who fought the Nazis as part of the Red Army, Mr Zelenskyy studied economics and law at Kryvyi Rih National University.

He became an actor and comedian at the age of 17, starring in various films. His political satire singled him out in 2015 to play the lead in Servant of the People, which centred on a fictional character who won the presidency in Ukraine and launched sweeping reforms to save it from a corrupt political class.

With no previous political experience, Mr Zelenskyy was elected for real on April 21, 2019. He beat the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, with nearly 73 per cent of the vote.

He campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket and promised negotiations with Russia to find a solution to the turmoil in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which has been run by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.

His critics describe Mr Zelenskyy as a puppet of Ukrainian business mogul Ihor Kolomoyskyy, the former billionaire governor of the key industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk.

In the lead-up to the Russian invasion, Mr Zelenskyy was critical of Mr Biden’s open and detailed warnings about Vladimir Putin’s intentions, saying they were premature and could cause panic.

During the continuing crisis, he became a social media star, with millions of followers on Instagram. Many of his admirers have shared photos from his past life as an actor as well as others with his wife and parents.

Washington and its allies were often subjected to criticism for not doing more to protect Ukraine, including defending it militarily or accelerating its application to join Nato.

Mr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, an architect, have a daughter, 17, and son, nine. It is thought they remained in Ukraine when Russia invaded in February 2022 and did not join the exodus of mainly women and children seeking safety abroad.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy through the years - in pictures

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine's wartime leader who became a hero to UK politicians

President addressed parliament in Westminster and will see his troops training on his first visit to Britain since the outbreak of war

Who is Volodymyr Zelenskyy?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy through the years - in pictures