Mikhail Fradkov

Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov (Russian: Михаи́л Ефи́мович Фрадко́в, IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ frɐtˈkof]; born 1 September 1950) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 2004 to 2007. An Independent, he was the longest serving director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service from 2007 to 2016.[1][2] Since 4 January 2017, Fradkov has been Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.[3]

Mikhail Fradkov
Fradkov in 2016
Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies
Assumed office
4 January 2017
Preceded byLeonid Reshetnikov
Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service
In office
6 October 2007  5 October 2016
PresidentVladimir Putin
Dimitry Medvedev
Vladimir Putin
Preceded bySergei Lebedev
Succeeded bySergey Naryshkin
Prime Minister of Russia
In office
5 March 2004  14 September 2007
PresidentVladimir Putin
Preceded byMikhail Kasyanov
Succeeded byViktor Zubkov
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of the Union State
In office
11 March 2004  15 October 2007
Preceded byMikhail Kasyanov
Succeeded byViktor Zubkov
Personal details
Born (1950-09-01) 1 September 1950
Samara, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
Political partyIndependent
Spouse(s)Elena Ludenko-Fradkova
ChildrenPeter
Pavel
AwardsOrder of Honour

The cabinet of Fradkov was the first government in the history of Russia that voluntarily resigned accordance to part 1 of Article 117 of the constitution.[4][5][6][7][8]

Early life

Fradkov was born near Samara to a family of Jewish origin on his father's side.[9] He studied at both the Moscow Machine Tool Design (станкоинструментальный) Institute (graduated 1972) and the Foreign Trade Academy (graduated 1981). In 1973, he was posted to the economic section of the Soviet Union's embassy in India, where he remained for two years. He later held several positions back in Russia. In 1991, he was Russia's representative to General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Geneva.

Political career

In late 1992, Fradkov was appointed Deputy Minister for Foreign Economic Relations. Less than a year later, in October 1993, he became First Deputy Minister for Foreign Economic Relations. On 15 April 1997, a presidential decree by Boris Yeltsin appointed Fradkov Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, a post which he kept for nearly a year. In the middle of 1999, another presidential decree made him Minister of Trade. He was made director of the Federal Tax Police by Vladimir Putin in 2001, having previously been Deputy Secretary of the Security Council. In 2003 he was made Russia's representative to the European Union. On 1 March 2004, he was nominated by Putin as the next Prime Minister, and this appointment was approved by the Duma on 5 March.

Fradkov's nomination as Prime Minister was a surprise to many observers, as he was not seen as part of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Some commentators, such as the Carnegie Moscow Center's Lilia Shevtsova, have speculated that his "outsider" status might have been an important factor in his nomination, saying that Putin selected him as someone who was "not a representative of any of the warring clans" in the Kremlin. Former Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, whom Fradkov has served under, called Fradkov "absolutely independent from any sort of political clan or group." Putin and his allies praised Fradkov as experienced, professional, and honest.

On 12 May 2004, Fradkov was appointed Prime Minister for the second time, as Vladimir Putin had won the presidential election and been inaugurated on 7 May (see also Mikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet). On 12 September 2007 Fradkov announced his resignation to President Putin, which Putin accepted, nominating Viktor Zubkov as Fradkov's successor.[10] Putin bestowed an award on Fradkov and said that he would remain in office until the confirmation of a successor by the Duma.[11] Zubkov was confirmed on 14 September 2007.[12]

On 6 October 2007, President Putin announced that he would appoint Fradkov as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.[13]

Fradkov's appointment as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, combined with his service in India, are suggestive of a KGB background. This calls into question earlier assumptions that he was an "outsider" in Kremlin circles and provides an explanation for Putin's trust in him.[14]

In November 2010 reports emerged that one of Fradkov's intelligence officers, a Colonel Shcherbakov, had defected to the United States on 21 June 2010, having betrayed a Russian spy ring in the United States. Critics alleged that the suspicions that Shcherbakov was a double agent which emerged when Shcherbakov turned down a promotion requiring a lie detector test should have been followed up more aggressively. Shcherbakov also had a daughter in the United States. Kommersant, which broke the story, speculated that Fradkov might be replaced by Sergei Naryshkin and/or Russian intelligence services reorganized.[15]

In April 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on him and 23 other Russian nationals.[16][17] Pavel Fradkov, the son of Mikhail Fradkov, is a deputy head of the state property watchdog Rosimushchestvo.[18] Given his vast political experience, he is often suggested as a possible successor to Vladimir Putin when his time in office comes to an end.[19]

Honours and awards

References

  1. "Meeting with Sergei Naryshkin and Mikhail Fradkov". President of Russia. Presidential Press Service. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  2. "Executive Order on Mikhail Fradkov". President of Russia. Presidential Press Service. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. "Fradkov was appointed director of RISI". Interfax. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  4. https://klops.ru/news/2020-01-15/207044-pravitelstvo-rossii-ushlo-v-otstavku-pochemu-eto-proizoshlo-i-chto-oznachaet
  5. https://tass.ru/info/7528951
  6. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/42294
  7. http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/42294
  8. "In accordance with Article 83 (c) and part 1 of Article 117 of the Russian Federation Constitution..."
  9. C. Lev Krichevsky, "Russian Jew named prime minister brings out Jewish pride — and anxiety" Archived 16 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, JTA, 2 March 2004.
  10. Nabi Abdullaev, "Fradkov Quits, Replacement a Surprise", The Moscow Times, Issue 3742, 13 September 2007, p. 1.
  11. C. J. Chivers, "Putin Shuffles Government, Posing Mystery", The New York Times, 13 September 2007.
  12. Michael Binyon, "Viktor Zubkov confirmed as Russian PM", The Times (UK), 14 September 2007.
  13. "Ex-PM to head Russian foreign intelligence". Reuters. 6 October 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  14. Andrei Soldatov, "The Re-agent" Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Novaya Gazeta, 11 October 2007.
  15. Alexander Bratersky, Fradkov Under Fire for Spy Defection, The Moscow Times, 12 November 2010
  16. "Ukraine-/Russia-related Designations and Identification Update". United States Department of the Treasury. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  17. "США ввели санкции против семи российских олигархов и 17 чиновников из "кремлевского списка"" [The US imposed sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs and 17 officials from the "Kremlin list"]. Meduza (in Russian). 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  18. The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy, Reuters, 15 August 2012
  19. Whitmore, Brian. "The Post-Putin Sweepstakes". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
Mikhail Kasyanov
Prime Minister of Russia
2004–2007
Succeeded by
Viktor Zubkov
Government offices
Preceded by
Sergei Lebedev
Director of Foreign Intelligence Service
2007–2016
Succeeded by
Sergei Naryshkin
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