Original name:
Poland
10.02.1973
Pavel Latushko was born on February 10, 1973 in Minsk, BSSR.
Pavel Latushko studied at the history course of the Belarusian University, but later chose law, graduating in 1995 with a knowledge of international law. Another year later, he completed his education at the retraining faculty of Minsk Linguistic University.
In addition to Russian and Belarusian, he speaks English and Polish.
Working in 1995-1996 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Latushko served as an attaché. He then moved to Poland, where he served as vice-consul and consul in Bialystok from 1996 to 2000. Upon his return home, from 2000 to 2002 he was a spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.
At the end of 2002, Pavel was appointed Ambassador of Belarus to Poland, a position he held until the fall of 2008. After returning home, he was appointed Minister of Culture in 2009, becoming the youngest minister in the cabinet. He made a significant contribution to the cultural development of the country, creating programs to preserve historical heritage and support theatrical art.
In 2012. Pavel Latushko was awarded the high diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus.
From November 16, 2012 until January 15, 2019 Pavel Latushko represented Belarus as Ambassador to France, and was a permanent diplomat to UNESCO and the Global Travel Association. From May 20, 2013 until January 15, 2019, he additionally served as envoy to Spain and Portugal. Latushko was also Belarus’ representative to the Executive Board of UNESCO and served on the National Commission for UNESCO.
On March 6, 2019, Latushko was appointed to the role of head of the Yanka Kupala Theater in the capital. But in August 2020, after the presidential election, he joined protesters against the results of the vote. In the wake of these events, on August 14, the theater’s staff, led by Latushko, expressed disagreement with the election results and declared their readiness to go on strike. Soon, on August 17, Latushko was relieved of his duties.
Divorced, has a daughter Yana.
August 18, 2020. Latushko joined the Coordination Group of the Opposition, whose goal was the transit of power in Belarus. Since August 19, he became an active member of the presidium of this group. However, on September 2, after Lukashenka’s statement about Latushko crossing the “red line,” the latter left for Poland. On September 16, Latushko was stripped of his diplomatic rank by Lukashenka’s decision.
On March 29, 2021, a criminal case was launched against Latushko. On April 2, his name was added to the list of persons accused of terrorism links. Poland refused to extradite Latushko, despite Minsk’s request.
On October 12, 2021, Belarusian authorities opened another case against Latushko and Svetlana Tihanouskaya, accusing them of “unauthorized assignment of rank.”
On December 13, 2021, the Belarusian law enforcement agencies started a new criminal proceeding against Pavel Latushko on the basis of Part 3 Article 426 (“Abuse of official powers”) of the Criminal Code of Belarus. The Prosecutor General’s Office accuses him that in 2012, when he was Minister of Culture, he deliberately ordered his subordinates to finance some film projects from the state budget without legal grounds. These actions led to the conclusion of illegal contracts with movie studios. He could face up to 10 years in prison for these acts.
On March 6, 2023, Minsk court found Latushko guilty on all charges and passed a verdict of 18 years of imprisonment in a high-security colony.