Sergei Ivanov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sergei Borisovich Ivanov
Defense Minister of the Russian Federation
In office March 28, 2001 – February 15, 2007
Preceded by	Igor Sergeyev
Succeeded by	Anatoliy Serdyukov
Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation
In office November 15, 1998 – March 28, 2001
Preceded by	Vladimir Putin
Succeeded by	Vladimir Rushailo
Born	January 31, 1953
Spouse	Natalia Ivanova

See Ivanov for other people known as "Sergei Ivanov"

Sergei Borisovich Ivanov (Серге́й Бори́сович Ивано́в in Russian) (born January 31, 1953, Leningrad) is a first deputy prime minister of Russia and former minister of defense (March 2001-February 2007). Previously, as secretary of the Russian Security Council, Ivanov served as an adviser to President Boris Yeltsin and later President Vladimir Putin (November 1999-March 2001) on matters of national security.

Before joining the federal administration in Moscow, Ivanov—a fluent speaker of English—served in the Soviet and later Russian foreign intelligence service as a specialist in law and foreign languages, both at home and abroad (in Europe and Africa) from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. In 1976, Ivanov graduated from the linguistics department of Leningrad State University, where he studied English and Swedish, and later completed postgraduate studies in counterintelligence and law.

From July 1998 through August 1999 Ivanov served as a deputy to Vladimir Putin, then director of the Federal Security Service. In November 1999, Russian Yeltsin appointed Ivanov secretary of the Security Council, a body charged with advising the president on matters of national security. Ivanov became Russia's defense minister, becoming the first civilian to hold that post, in March 2001. On February 15, 2007, Ivanov resigned as defense minister following his elevation to the post of deputy prime minister.

[edit] Youth, education, and early career

In 1976 Ivanov graduated from the translation department of Leningrad State University's philological faculty, where he majored in English and Swedish. In the late 1970s Ivanov began a two decades career on the staff of the external intelligence service. In 1977 he completed postgraduate studies in counterintelligence, graduating from Higher Courses of the KGB in Minsk. Upon graduating, Ivanov was sent to work at the State Security Department of Leningrad and the Leningrad region. [1]

In the late 1970s Ivanov began working in foreign intelligence, holding various posts in Africa and Europe.

In 1981 Ivanov graduated from KGB First Chief Directorate's 101st School (now the Andropov Red-Banner Institute). [2]

In the mid-1990s, Ivanov became one of the youngest generals in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. [3]

[edit] Career in Moscow

In August 1998, Vladimir Putin became head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, and appointed Ivanov his deputy. As deputy director of the Federal Security Service, Ivanov solidified his reputation in Moscow as a competent analyst in matters of domestic and external security. ^[1] On November 15, 1999 Ivanov was appointed secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, an advisory body charged with formulating presidential directives on national security, by Boris Yeltsin. In that position, Ivanov replaced Putin as Yeltsin's national security adviser upon Putin's promotion to the premiership.

As secretary, Ivanov was responsible for coordinating the daily work of the council, led by the president. But Ivanov's role as secretary was initially unclear to media observers. At the time of his appointment, the Security Council was a relatively new institution. (The council was set up by Yeltsin's tutelage in 1991-1992. [4]) Between 1992 and Ivanov's appointment in 1999, Yeltsin used the council as political expediency had dictated, but had not allow it to emerge as a relatively strong and autonomous institution. [5] Ivanov's predecessors in that post, including Putin, according to Western analysts, were either the second most powerful political figure in Russia or the just another functionary lacking close access to the center of state power, depending on their relationship with Yeltsin. [6]

[edit] Defense minister

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov at the G8 meeting for the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on June 29, 2006.

Ivanov was named by Vladimir Putin, who had succeeded Yeltsin as president on December 31, 1999, as Russia's defense minister in March 2001. That month Ivanov stepped down as secretary of the Security Council, but remained a member. Ivanov had resigned from military service around a year earlier, and was a civilian while serving as secretary of the Security Council. Ivanov therefore became Russia's first civilian defense minister. [7] Putin called the personnel changes in Russia's security structures coinciding with Ivanov's appointment as defense minister "a step toward demilitarizing public life." Putin also stressed Ivanov's responsibility for overseeing military reform as defense minister. [8]

Unsurprisingly to specialists on Russia, Ivanov became bogged down in the sheer difficulty of his duties as defense minister. But despite bureaucratic inertia and corruption in the military, Ivanov did preside over some changes the form of a shift towards a more professional army. Although Invanov was not successful in abandoning the draft, he did downsize it. [9]

As defense secretary, Ivanov worked with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to expand Russian-U.S. cooperation against international terrorist threats to both states. [10]

On May 2001, Ivanov was elected chairman of the Council of Commonwealth of Independent States Defense Ministers.

In December 2005, Ivanov received criticism for his response to the public outcry over a particularly brutal hazing incident at a military base in the Urals. [11]

From time to time Ivanov has disconcerted Western audiences with the bluntness of his remarks on international military and political issues, though his political orientation is moderate and generally liberal on economic issues. In a series of public comments on the 2003-2004 elections, for instance, he unequivocally stated his opposition to rolling back the Western-style economic reforms and privatizations of the 1990s. [12]

[edit] Deputy prime minister

In November 2005 Ivanov was appointed to the post of deputy prime minister, with added responsibility for the defense industry and arms exports. On February 15, 2007 Putin elevated Ivanov to the post of first deputy prime minister and relieved him of his duties as defense minister. Ivanov's promotion placed him on the same level as the other first deputy prime minister, Gazprom chairman Dmitry Medvedev. [13]

[edit] 2008 presidential election

Ivanov is often considered by domestic media as a potential frontrunner to succeed Vladimir Putin, who is barred by the constitution from standing for a third consecutive term, in the 2008 Russian presidential election. [14] There has been some speculation that Invanov is among a likely shortlist of candidates whom Putin may endorse to Russian voters in the race. [15] Because of his popularity with voters, Putin's endorsement is expected to help his preferred candidate, according to opinion polls and Russian political analysts. This speculation was intensified in November 2005 by Ivanov's promotion to the rank of deputy prime minister. [16] The speculation was further intensified in February 2007 by Ivanov's promotion to the post of first deputy prime minister. [17]

Russian opinion polls suggest that Ivanov enjoys wide name recognition among the Russian public with relatively strong approval ratings. [18]

Ivanov's career, in terms of his background and rise through Russia's state structures, has often been compared to the current president's, fueling speculation that Ivanov may run for president in 2008. Three months younger than Putin, Ivanov had been a student contemporary of Putin's in their hometown of Leningrad. Both completed competitive specialized secondary education programs (Putin in chemistry, Ivanov in English language) in Leningrad before attending Leningrad State University. [19] Both completed postgraduate studies in counterintelligence; and both joined the foreign intelligence service shortly afterward. However, according to Ivanov's recollections, he did not become acquainted with Putin during their years as students, but rather when both were assigned to work in the same foreign intelligence division in Leningrad. [20]

[edit] Personal

Married, with two sons, Ivanov's hobbies include fishing and reading detective novels in the original English. [21]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ivanov, Sergei, Lenta.ru (in Russian).
• Biography by Vladimir Pribylovsky (in Russian).
• Russia Profile of Sergei Ivanov
• Sergei Ivanov Biography at spb.ru
• "Russian Defense Minister Arrives In Kyrgyzstan"