MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin appointed Alexander Yakovenko to the post of deputy foreign minister, a source in the Kremlin press service said Friday.
Yakovenko was the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Yakovenko was born on October 21, 1954. In 1976, he graduated from the department of international economic relations of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He speaks English and French, has a law doctorate and is a professor at MGIMO.
From 1976-1997, he held various posts in the Foreign Ministry and in the permanent USSR representation in the UN.
From 1997-2000 he was the deputy of the Russian permanent representative in international organizations in Vienna, Austria.
Beginning in 2000, he was the director of the ministry's Information and Press Department and its official spokesman.
