Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of South Africa since April 14, 2020, to the Republic of Mozambique since September 2021, to the Republic of Botswana since October 2021.

Chargé d’affaire of Ukraine to the RSA since August 31, 2019.

Prior to this, Liubov Abravitova assumed her role as Counsellor at the Embassy of Ukraine in Pretoria in January 2017. Earlier, she served as the Counsellor of the Middle East and Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Ms. Abravitova entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in March 2003. Her overseas tours have included Ottawa (Canada), Brussels (Belgium), and Geneva (Switzerland). In Belgium, she was the vice-consul, responsible for Belgium and Luxembourg. She was press attaché for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2007 until 2009.

Ms. Abravitova was raised in Odesa, Ukraine. She received a BA in International Relations from Odesa National University and a Master of Advanced Studies (European security issues) at the University of Geneva. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and French.

 

“Being a career diplomat of 20 years and an official representative as Ambassador of Ukraine to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, I perfectly understand the price that every female diplomat pays, developing the field of international relations. And it’s not just about the lack of time and attention to home and children. I know how to always be calm and composed, even in the most stressful and difficult situations. It is a big and very important part of my job, a job that I love, a job that is more my life’s calling than just a career. In the context of Russia’s brutal war against my country I feel especially acutely the role of women diplomats, as well as women soldiers, women doctors, women teachers, just someone’s mothers, sisters, daughters. Women whose importance we did not realize before, but now we understand that they are all heroines of our time.” – Liubov Abravitova