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SHMATKO, Sergei Ivanovich

Minister for Energy of the Russian Federation

Former head of Atomstroyexport

Sergei Shmatko (Сергей Иванович Шматко) was born September 26, 1966 in Stavropol, Stavropol Territory, to a family of a military serviceman. Shmatko lived with his parents for a number of years in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), where his father served; this stay provided Shmatko the opportunity to learn the German language.

In 1983 Shmatko entered the Faculty for Mechanical Mathematics at the Ural State University. In 1985 he was drafted into the army and served in the nuclear submarine corps with the Northern Fleet. Following his release from military duties, Shmatko decided to change his future profession and transferred to the Faculty of Political Economy at the same university as before. He graduated from there in 1990.

As a part of his studies Shmatko was sent to Marburg University in West Germany. He received Distinction for his final exams and defended his dissertation in 1992.

In 1992 Shmatko began to work as an auditor at BDO Binder in Frankfurt am Main. In 1994 he held the position of director of RFI GmbH-Society for consultation of investments in Russia, and was also chairman of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFFI) for the European Union. It is known that during the period of privatization in Russia he returned to his native land where, together with a delegation of German specialists, took part in implementing the procedure in the valuation of businesses.
 
From June 1995 to December 1997 Shmatko worked as a researcher at the non-state organization Institute for Problems of Investment, and headed the external relations management at the All-Russia Bank of Regional Development (VBRR) (state bank on a federal level, founded in September 1995).

In 1997 Shmatko began work with the nuclear power station operating company Rosenergoatom, where until 1999 he was chief of the analytic centre for economic strategy. In 1999 he took up the post of adviser on economic strategy to the Director General of the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute on the Operations of Nuclear Power Stations (VNIIAES). He would remain in this post until 2001.

From 2002 to 2005 Shmatko was the chairman of the State Foundation on Conversion, set up in 1995 to assist state policy in the field of conversion of the defense industry on the basis of support of conversion programs of enterprises and organizations. In 2004 during his tenure at this position, Shmatko graduated from the higher academic courses at the Military Academy of the Joint Staff of Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, with a specialization in "defense and guaranteeing security of the Russian Federation."

From February to June 2005 Shmatko was vice-president at Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, and was adviser to the chairman of the board for Gazprombank (in October 2004 this company secured majority ownership of Atomstroyexport from heavy industry company OMZ Group). In June 2005 Shmatko was made CEO of Atomstroyexport. In January 2008 he was appointed Deputy Director of Atomenergoprom, to supervise foreign trade activities of the company. At the same time he retained his position as CEO of Atomstroyexport.

Under Shmatko, Atomstroyexport has achieved considerable successes in the advancement of Russian nuclear technologies on the international markets by developing cooperation on nuclear power station construction aboard, namely in China, India, Bulgaria and Iran. By mid 2007, the company built seven projects at the same time, more thatn any of its competitors. It has been revealed that there are negotiations between Atomstroyexport and Vietnam, Malaysia, Egypt, Namibia, Morocco, South Africa, Algeria, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. International media sources remark that Shmatko's company has transformed itself into "the Kremlin's main tool in meeting the growing demands from developing countries for the construction of nuclear power stations." Moreover, such sources note that Atomstroyexport is "not afraid to deal with those governments which avoid other nuclear enterprises." Journalists pay particular attention to the construction of a power station in Bushehr, Iran, which has been at the center of an international conflict regarding Iran's nuclear program. In April 2006 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country now possesses nuclear technologies and promised to proceed with industrial uranium enrichment. After this the Russians give the Iranian atomic scientists "an occasion to justify their efforts in uranium enrichment." [1] In turn, Shmatko in an interview with newspaper Vedomosti spoke of the great historical responsibility of his company in preserving good relations between Russia and Iran. He highlighted that, while considering the strict measures taken by the United States regarding Iran, Atomstroyexport has hastened the rate of construction and "actively finances this project, demonstrating a confidence to conclude it successfully." [2] At the end of 2007 the United States gave their consent in recognizing as acceptable the delivery of Russian enriched uranium to Iran under the condition that the latter guarantees the return of used fuel.

In May 2008 Shmatko was appointed Minister for Energy of the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin's government. According to experts, the appointment of a businessman in nuclear projects to the aforementioned post is a reflection of the allocation of the country's energy priorities.

Shmatko is married, has two children - Artem and Polina.

Related Sources

[1] IranAtom.Ru, Shmatko: 'Atomstroyexport struggles with Chernobyl's legacy,' June 12, 2007 (In Russian)

[2] Vedomosti.Ru, Interview with Sergei Shmatko, CEO of Atomstroyexport, June 22, 2006 (In Russian)

Last updated July 2, 2008