Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov (born 23 September 1945) is a Russian politician who was

Foreign Minister of Russia The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is a high-ranking Russian government official who heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The foreign minister is one of the five so-called 'presidential' minist ...

from 1998 to 2004 under both the

Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

and the

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

administrations.

Early life

Ivanov was born in 1945 in Moscow to a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n father and a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n mother (Elena Sagirashvili). In 1969 he graduated at the Maurice Thorez Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages ( Moscow State Linguistic University). He joined the Soviet Foreign Ministry in 1973 and spent a decade in Spain. He returned to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1983. In 1991 he became the ambassador in Madrid.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on September 11, 1998. As Russian foreign minister, Ivanov was an opponent of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's action in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. He was also an opponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Ivanov played a key role in mediating a deal between Georgian President

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia fo ...

and opposition parties during

's "

Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...

" in 2003.

Resignation

Ivanov was succeeded to the post of foreign minister by

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (russian: Сергей Викторович Лавров, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. Lavrov served as the Permanent Represe ...

in 2004, and appointed by President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

to the post of Secretary of the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, followed shortly by the appointment of

as foreign minister. On 9 July 2007, he submitted his resignation. On 18 July, President Putin accepted Ivanov's resignation and appointed Valentin Sobolev as acting secretary, Ivanov is professor of

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (russian: Московский государственный институт международных отношений (МГИМО), also known as MGIMO University) is an institute of ...

(MGIMO-University), member of the Supervisory Council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe and member of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation. Igor Ivanov is the President of Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). In 2011, Ivanov became a member of the advisory council of The Hague Institute for Global Justice and in 2014 worked for '' The Moscow Times''.

Honours and awards

* Hero of the Russian Federation (27 October 1999) *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 2nd (1999) and 4th (1996) classes *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1988) *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «В память 850-летия Москвы») is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Mos ...

*Honoured Worker of the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Federation (2003) *Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) *Grand Cross of the

Order of San Carlos The Order of San Carlos is a state order granted by Colombia. The order was founded 16 August 1954 to honor Colombian citizens and foreign civilians and military officers who have made outstanding contributions to the nation of Colombia, especiall ...

(2001, Colombia) * Order of Friendship (Vietnam) (2001) * Order of Saint Blessed Prince Vladimir, 2nd class (2003, Russian Orthodox Church) *Commemorative Medal Gorchakov (2005, Russian MFA) *"Silver Cross" of the Russian Biographical Institute (1999) *Laureate of the "Man of the Year" (1999)

References

Personal data sheet: Igor Ivanov

Bridget Kendall interview with Ivanov, BBC, 5 March 2003Igor Ivanov: cheery and direct, BBC NEWSIgor Ivanov

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Igor 1945 births Living people Moscow State Linguistic University alumni Diplomats from Moscow Soviet diplomats Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Soviet Union) Foreign ministers of Russia Politicians from Moscow People of the Chechen wars Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Heroes of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Friendship Order 2003 Tuzla Island conflict The Moscow Times