Foreign Affairs Minister

NAME: SERGEI VIKTOROVICH LAVROV

BORN: 21 March 1950

EDUCATION: *Mr Lavrov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the MFA of the USSR in 1972.

CAREER: *Mr Lavrov began his career in 1972 at the USSR Embassy in Sri Lanka.  *He worked in the Department of International Organizations of the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) of the USSR between 1976 and 1981.  *From 1981 to 1988 he served as First Secretary, Councillor and Second Councillor at the Permanent Representation of the USSR to the United Nations.  *From 1988 to 1990 Mr Lavrov was deputy head of the Department of International Economic Relations of the MFA of Russia.  *From 1990-1992 he was director of the Department of International Organizations and Global Problems of the MFA of Russia.  *From 1992-1994 Mr Lavrov served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.  *From 1994 -2004 he was the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.  *Mr Lavrov has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since March 2004.

MISCELLANEOUS: *Mr Lavrov has command of the English, French and Singhalese (Sri Lanka) languages.  *Father: Armenian from Georgia.  *He is married and has one daughter.  *Mr Lavrov has the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation.  *Career MFA.  *He plays guitar, and writes poetry in his free time. *Wrote MFA’s Anthem.  *It is widely believed that the majority of foreign policy decisions are made by Putin at the counsel of Sergei Prikhodko, the Presidential Advisor on Foreign Policy. *Member CPSU until 1991. *Rafts in Altai. *Dacha neighbours with M Fradkov. *Collects anecdotes. *In an interview in October 2009 with Russia Today, Lavrov claimed that he had not written any poetry since becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs.