Mikhail Vitalyevich Margelov (; born 22 December 1964), is a Russian public figure and politician, Vice President, JSC “

Transneft Joint Stock Company Transneft () is a state-controlled pipeline transport company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. It is the largest oil pipeline company in the world. The company is operating over of trunk pipelines and transports about 80% ...

”, and ex-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the

Federation Council of Russia The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 ...

. He has been a member of the

European Democrat Group The European Conservatives, Patriots & Affiliates (ECPA) group is a conservative group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was founded as the Group of Independent Representatives in 1970 by British and Scandinavian members of ...

in the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

(PACE) from 2002 until 2009. He has the federal state civilian service rank of

1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...

Personal

Margelov is the son of Colonel General Vitaly Margelov, a politician and intelligence officer, and the grandson of General

Vasily Margelov Vasily Filippovich Margelov (; ; – 4 March 1990) was a Red Army General of the army (USSR), General who was the commander of the Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV) from 1954 to 1959 and from 1961 to 1979. Margelov modernized the VDV and was a Hero o ...

, a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

. He graduated from the Institute of Asian and African Countries, which is affiliated to

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

. He is married and has two sons.

Career

Margelov has worked as an

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

in the International Department of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

, taught

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

at the Higher School of the KGB, and was Senior Editor of the Arab section in the

TASS News Agency The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise ...

. He is also fluent in English.Биография на сайте РИА «Новости»
/ref> In 1990–1995, he was employed by a number of US consulting companies dealing with investment projects in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

. In 1995, he became project director for the publicity campaign of

Grigory Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky (; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He has held numerous positions in the Soviet and Russian governments across different levels, including in the State Duma. Yavlinsky was one of auth ...

and the

Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko; rus, Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko" ...

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

. In 1996, he was chief co-ordinator for advertising for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

's 1996 re-election campaign. He went on to head the President's public relations department from November 1996 to May 1998. Between October 1999 to October 2000, he was a director of the Russian Information Centre (Rosinformcentr), a government agency covering events in the

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

From May 1998 to September 1999, he held a managerial position at

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (), is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013, by a decree of Vladimir Putin, it was liquidated and its assets and workforce were transferred to the newly created ...

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...

. From January to March 2000, Margelov served as a consultant to Vladimir Putin's Electoral Headquarters, in charge of contacts with foreign media. In PACE, he was a member of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

(Monitoring Committee), the Political Affairs Committee and the Sub-Committee on the Middle East. Having served as the vice-president of the PACE, he was due to be appointed president in 2008. However, he was controversially blocked in what some regarded as an

anti-Russian Anti-Russian sentiment or Russophobia is the dislike or fear of Russia, Russian people, or Russian culture. The opposite of Russophobia is Russophilia. Historically, Russophobia has included state-sponsored and grassroots mistreatment and di ...

move.

Honours and awards

* Order of Honour (19 November 2007) – for services to law-making, strengthening and development of the Russian state *

Pushkin Medal The Medal of Pushkin () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded to its citizens and to foreigners for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature. It is named in honour of Russian author and poet Al ...

(21 July 2003) – for outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development of the city of Pskov, and in connection with the 1100 anniversary of its foundationУказ Президента Российской Федерации 21 июля 2003 года № 800 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации»
/ref> *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

(1997) * Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" (2005) *Medal of Merit in conducting national census * Certificate of Honour of the President of the Russian Federation (17 February 2010) – for services to the development of international cooperation and the many years of diligent work *By the President of the Russian Federation (30 March 1998) – for active participation in the preparation of the President's Address to the Federal Assembly in 1998 *Honorary medal of the

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

, "For merits in the development of parliamentarism" *Badge "Honorary Worker of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation" (2004) – for services to the development of cooperation with the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation *Medal "For Services to Pskov" (2009) *Medal "Pro merito" (

, 2010) – for his significant contribution to the promotion of democratic values, human rights *"Woodrow Wilson" Award

References

External links

Michael Margelov Biography, Council of EuropeMichael Margelov Biography, European Democrat GroupInterview with the BBC
20 February 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Margelov, Mikhail 1964 births Living people 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation People from Moscow Politicians from Moscow Diplomats from Moscow United Russia politicians Interpreters Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Medal of Pushkin 21st-century translators