KHRISTENKO, Viktor Borisovich
Minister for Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Victor Khristenko (Виктор Борисович Христенко) was born on August 28, 1957 in Chelyabinsk. The current Russian Minister for Industry and Trade, he also sits on the board of a number of Russian companies including Transneft and Gazprom.

In 1979 he graduated from Chelyabinsk Mechanical Engineering Institute (now South Ural State University), specializing in construction management and economics. Following graduation, he worked as a computer engineer at the university's Department of Economics of Mechanical Engineering. In 1983 Khristenko completed his PhD at the Moscow Institute of Management.

In March 1990, Khristenko was elected to the Soviet of People's Deputies, representing Chelyabinsk. He served various positions in the local administration, including chairman of the commission for the urban development of Chelyabinsk, first deputy chairman of the Municipal Committee on Economy and chairman of the Committee on Management of City Property. Working in the local government until 1996, Khristenko rose to First Deputy Governor of the region.

In 1995, Khristenko became head of the Chelyabinsk division of the Our Home - Russia political party. The following year, he became head of the electoral campaign for Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the Chelyabinsk Region. In March 1997 he was appointed Presidential envoy to the Chelyabinsk Region.

Khristenko was named deputy finance minister in 1997, serving under Prime Minister Victor Chenomyrdin. The following year, he was named deputy prime minister responsible for financial policy under Sergei Kirienko. When Kirienko resigned in October 1998, he became first deputy minister for Finance in Yevgeniy Primakov's cabinet.

Between May 1999 and February 2004, Khristenko served as deputy prime minister under first Sergei Stepashin, then Vladimir Putin and finally Mikhail Kasyanov. Following Kasyanov's dismissal in February 2004, Khristenko served as acting prime minister. In March of the same year, he was appointed Minister for Industry and Energy in Mikhail Fradkov's cabinet. In September 2007, he was reappointed under the government of Viktor Zubkov.

On May 12 2008 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin named Khristenko Minister for Industry and Trade.

Khristenko is the chairman of the board of directors of state-owned oil company Transneft and a member of the board of directors for the electric power company Unified Energy System. He also sits on the board of directors of Gazprom and Russian Railways.

He is married to Tatiana Golikova, the current Minister of Health and Social Development, and has three children from his first marriage.

Related links:

Ministry of Trade and Industry Web site

Related Russia Profile articles: