Coordinator of the civil campaign European Belarus, which aims for Belarus to join the European Union.

He lives in Warsaw, meets with foreign politicians, takes part in activities related to Belarus. He is currently preparing a book Belarusian ‘American’ Prison or Election under the Dictatorship, which was written in 2014.

Born in Minsk on March 8, 1954. Father – art historian Aleh Sannikau, his mother – a teacher of Russian, Alla Sannikava. Grandfather – People’s Artist of the BSSR Kanstantsin Sannikau, one of the founders of the National Academic Theatre of Yanka Kupala.

He graduated from the Interpreters’ Department of the Minsk State Institute of Foreign Languages ​​(1977), Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Moscow (1989).

Mr Sannikau worked at the Minsk Electrotechnical Plant, as translator in an oil company in Pakistan, at the construction of an aluminum plant in Egypt, in the Society for Friendship with Foreign Countries, as a Soviet representative to the UN Secretariat in New York.

From 1989, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the BSSR, and then the Republic of Belarus. Advisor to the Mission of the Republic of Belarus in Switzerland (1993-95). Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus (1995-96), resigned in protest against the 1996 referendum.

One of the initiators of the civil initiative Charter’97 (1997) and the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus (together with Henadz Karpenka, 1998).

Rector of the University of the People, an independent educational project (1998-2002).

In 2008, together with Viktar Ivashkevich, Mikhail Marynich and other politicians Mr Sannikau was the initiator of the civil campaign European Belarus, which aims for Belarus to join the European Union.

On election day, December 19, 2010, he was arrested and severely beaten during a peaceful demonstration against election fraud. He was then put in the KGB jail, sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of organizing mass disorder. Mr Sannikau was pardoned in 2012. The same year he moved from Belarus to London to join his sister.

In 2013 he received a scholarship for a year of postgraduate training under Kalinouski program.

His wife is journalist Iryna Khalip. He has two sons.