Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko (born 30 August 1954) is the President of Belarus, having been in office since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm and spent time with the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army. He was the only deputy to vote against the independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union.

Lukashenko's relationship with the EU has been strained, in part by choice and in part by his policies towards domestic opponents. Lukashenko's repression of opponents caused him to be called "Europe's last dictator" and resulted in the EU imposing visa sanctions on him and a range of Belarusian officials. At times, the EU has lifted sanctions as a way to encourage dialogue or gain concessions from Lukashenko. Since the EU adopted this policy of "change through engagement", it has supported economic and political reforms to help integrate the Belarusian state.

Lukashenko's relationship with Russia, once his powerful ally and vocal supporter, has significantly deteriorated over the recent years. The run-up to the 2010 Belarusian presidential election was marked by a series of Russian media attacks on Lukashenko. Throughout July state-controlled channel NTV broadcast a multi-part documentary entitled "The Godfather" highlighting the suspicious disappearance of a number of opposition leaders during the late 1990s. Lukashenko called the media attack "dirty propaganda".