Lukashenko gives his son rank of general
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko dismissed his eldest son Viktor from the post of Presidential Assistant for National Security and gave him the rank of reserve Major General, reported Lukashenko’s press service.
Viktor Lukashenko is 45 years old. He has served as an assistant to the President of Belarus since 2005. Since 2007, Lukashenko’s son has been a member of the Belarusian Security Council. On February 26, Viktor Lukashenko replaced his father as head of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus.
In December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended all members of the Belarusian NOC executive committee, including Lukashenko and his son, from participating in IOC events. The decision was taken amid mass rallies in the country against the results of the presidential elections. The International Olympic Committee said that the NOC of Belarus failed to protect its athletes from political persecution.
After his son was elected as head of the NOC, Alexander Lukashenko denied reports that he was preparing to transfer power in Belarus to his children. "I have often said that in our family it has never been discussed and cannot be discussed, because no one of my children will be the president in Belarus after me," he said.
In addition to Viktor, Lukashenko has two other sons: the middle one, Dmitry (40 years old) is the chairman of the Belarusian association "Presidential Sports Club", the youngest, Nikolai, is 16 years old.
Nikolai Lukashenko has repeatedly appeared with his father in public. In August 2020, he and his father took the stage during a speech at a pro-government rally in Minsk, and later Alexander Lukashenko and his youngest son flew to his residence during mass protests in Belarus. They were carrying assault rifles, and Nikolai was wearing an army helmet.
In February, Lukashenko's youngest son skied with his father and Russian President Vladimir Putin after a meeting in Sochi.