English

Lukashenka alters birth date in his official biography

Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has altered his birth date in his official biography on the presidential website to read that he was born on August 31, 1954, one day later than previously stated.

Mr. Lukashenka’s birthday now coincides with the birthday of his youngest son, Mikalay.

A source at the Presidential Administration told BelaPAN that August 31 was the actual date of the Belarusian leader’s birth.

“Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s mother was rushed to a maternity hospital on the evening of August 30 but gave birth to him in the early hours of August 31," the source said. “In the 1950s, no-one was standing beside with a stopwatch in his hand in rural areas to put down the correct time of a child’s birth. And the birth date of the newborn baby was recorded as August 30, the day when the woman was admitted to the maternity hospital.”

“The president had been fairly cool about his birthday and had not paid much attention to it before the birth of his youngest son, Mikalay, who was born on August 31,” the source said. “But after the birth of Mikalay, the president started asking his mother for details of his birth, and he found out that he should actually celebrate his birthday on August 31.”