Sergey Ivanov

Sergei Borisovich Ivanov (Russian: Серге́й Бори́сович Ивано́в, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof]; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who is the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on the Issues of Environmental Activities, Environment and Transport since 12 August 2016. Ivanov was Minister of Defense of Russia from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008. After the election of Dmitry Medvedev as President of Russia, Ivanov was reappointed a Deputy Prime Minister in Vladimir Putin's second government. From December 2011 to August 2016, Ivanov was the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office. Having served in the Soviet KGB and its successor, the Federal Security Service, he holds the rank of colonel general. Before joining the federal administration in Moscow, Ivanov, a fluent speaker of English, served from the late 1970s in Europe and in Africa as a specialist in law and foreign languages. As an employee of the KGB in the Soviet Union era, Ivanov became a friend of his colleague Vladimir Putin, who appointed him as his Deputy in the late 1990s.