Entrepreneur Petro Poroshenko, who has claimed outright victory in Ukraine's presidential poll, was the only oligarch to have supported the pro-European opposition from the start.

The 48-year-old is known as "the chocolate king" for his ownership of Ukraine's largest confectionery manufacturer, Roshen.

Exit polls suggest he won more than 55.9% of the vote in the first round, enough to avoid a second round of voting which he had warned could be upset by political instability.

Announcing he had won, Mr Poroshenko promised to forge closer links with the EU and restore peace in restive eastern regions where pro-Russian separatists had severely disrupted voting.

Mr Poroshenko also owns 5 Kanal TV, the most popular news channel in Ukraine, which showed clear pro-opposition sympathies during the months of political crisis in Kiev. Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.6bn (£961m) in March 2013.

Surprising support

Ukrainian media interpreted the groundswell of support for Mr Poroshenko as a reaction to the opposition's dithering and inability to find common ground during and after the anti-government protests that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Mr Poroshenko secured the support of opposition leader and former boxer Vitaly Klitschko as well as fellow tycoon Dmitry Firtash, who has long been on cordial terms with Russia.

'New way of living'

Mr Poroshenko comes from the mainly Russian-speaking Odessa region in southern Ukraine, although his political stronghold is believed to be in the central Vinnytsya region, where he started his business and political career.

He kicked off his presidential campaign in Vinnytsya with a rally there on 29 March.

The main slogan of Mr Poroshenko's election campaign was: "A new way of living."

He portrays himself as a pragmatic politician who sees Ukraine's future in Europe, but hopes to mend relations with Russia, using the diplomatic skills he developed as Ukrainian foreign minister.

He has pledged to implement local governance reform, grant more powers to the country's regions, facilitate economic reforms, and improve the investment climate.

Long experience

Mr Poroshenko has been elected to parliament several times and has worked with both the pro-European and pro-Russian political camps in Ukraine.

He was one of the founders of Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions. After helping to set it up in 2001, however, he left the same year to lead Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine electoral bloc.

He was also one of the main figures of the Orange Revolution that brought Mr Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko to power in 2004.

Mr Yushchenko is a godfather to Mr Poroshenko's children.

Source: BBC