President of Tatarstan since 2010 (born 1957)
Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov
(
Russian
:
Руста́м Нургали́евич Минниха́нов
;
Tatar
:
Р?ст?м Нургали улы Ми?неханов
,
romanized:
Rostam Nur?ali ulı Minnexanov
; born 1 March 1957) is a Russian politician who has served as the
head of Tatarstan
, a
federal subject
of
Russia
, since 2010.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Rustam Minnikhanov was born on March 1, 1957, in a
Volga Tatar
family in the New Arysh (
Russian
:
Новый Арыш
,
romanized
:
Novyi Arysh
;
Tatar
:
Я?а Арыш
,
romanized:
Yana Arı?
) village of
Rybno-Slobodsky District
in the
Tatar ASSR
.
He graduated from
Kazan
Agricultural Institute in 1978 as mechanical engineer and from Correspondence Institute of Soviet Trade as a commodity expert in 1986. He is a doctor of economic sciences.
[1]
Career
[
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]
After graduating from the institute in 1978, he began his career as an engineer in
Sabinsky District
Association of
Selkhoztekhnika
. He then worked in the district as a senior engineer and chief power engineer in a state timber industry enterprise and was deputy chairman of District Consumer Society Board.
In 1985?1993 he worked in
Arsky District
as chairman of the District Consumer Society Board, Chairman of the Executive Committee of People's Deputies District Council, First Deputy Head of District Administration.
In 1993 he was appointed head of
Vysokogorsky District
administration.
Minister of Finance (1996?1998)
[
edit
]
In November 1996 Minnikhanov was appointed minister of finance of the
Republic of Tatarstan
.
Prime Minister of Tatarstan (1998?2010)
[
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]
From July 10, 1998, until March 25, 2010, Minnikhanov was prime minister of the Republic of Tatarstan.
[1]
As prime minister, he was known for his enthusiasm for technological innovation, spearheading the republic's move to digital, paperless government and the streamlining of official business through the use of electronically distributed documents and electronic signing of official documents.
[2]
President of Tatarstan (2010?present)
[
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]
On January 27, 2010, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev
nominated Minnikhanov to be the new president of Tatarstan
[3]
and on March 25, 2010, Minnikhanov formally assumed the office of President.
[4]
His ceremony was presented on
Channel One Russia
by
Maxim Sharafutdinov
.
2014 welcome committee for Crimea
[
edit
]
Russian President
Vladimir Putin
meeting with pro-Russian representatives of the Crimean Tatars, 16 May 2014
During the
2014 Crimean crisis
, Minnikhanov acted as a mediator between the Kremlin government and the
Crimean Tatar
community over concerns raised amongst Crimean Tatars over potential persecution by Russia should it annex the peninsula.
[5]
On 5 March Minnikhanov signed an agreement on co-operation between Tatarstan and the Aksyonov government in Crimea that implied collaboration between ten government institutions as well as significant financial aid to Crimea from Tatarstan businesses.
[5]
On 11 March Minnikhanov was in Crimea on his second visit and attended as a guest in the Crimean parliament chamber during the vote on the declaration of sovereignty pending 16 March referendum.
[5]
The Tatarstan Mufti
Kamil Samigullin
invited Crimean Tatars to study in madrasas in
Kazan
, and declared support for their "brothers in faith and blood".
[5]
Following news of Crimea's independence
referendum
organized with the help of Russia on 16 March 2014, the Kurultai leadership voiced concerns of renewed persecution, as commented by a U.S. official before the visit of a UN human rights team to the peninsula.
[6]
At the same time, Minnikhanov was dispatched to Crimea to quell Crimean Tatars' concerns and to state that "in the 23 years of Ukraine's independence the Ukrainian leaders have been using Crimean Tatars as pawns in their political games without doing them any tangible favors". The issue of Crimean Tatar persecution by Russia has since been raised regularly on an international level.
[7]
[8]
On 18 March, the day Crimea was annexed by Russia, and Crimean Tatar was
de jure
declared one of the three official languages of Crimea. It was also announced that Crimean Tatars will be required to relinquish coastal lands on which they squatted since their return to Crimea in the early 1990s and be given land elsewhere in Crimea. Crimea stated it needed the relinquished land for "social purposes", since part of this land is occupied by the Crimean Tatars without legal documents of ownership.
[9]
The situation was caused by the inability of the
USSR
(and later Ukraine) to sell the land to Crimean Tatars at a reasonable price instead of giving back to the Tatars the land owned before deportation, once they or their descendants returned from Central Asia (mainly
Uzbekistan
). As a consequence, some Crimean Tatars settled as squatters, occupying land that was not legally registered.
2017 Iranian envoy
[
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]
On 20 April 2017 Minnikhanov was Putin's envoy to meet with candidate
Ebrahim Raisi
in
Mashhad
in Raisi's capacity as Head of
Astan Quds Razavi
. MP
Alireza Rahimi
questioned the meeting and asked for explanations about the reasons for it, citing alleged
Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election
. “The recent meeting raises the suspicion of interference in the elections, which is not appropriate”, he said.
[10]
[11]
According to the official
Islamic Republic News Agency
, Minnikhanov also met vice president
Eshaq Jahangiri
in
Tehran
one day earlier, discussing bilateral relations.
[12]
Other presidential duties
[
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]
On 18 March 2022 Minnikhanov met and awarded
2022 European figure skating champion
and
provisional 2022 Olympic gold medallist
Kamila Valieva
a “
Duslyk
” order and to her mother Alsu Valieva a medal of “100 years of the Establishment of
TASSR
”.
Corporate directorships
[
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]
During his tenure as republican prime minister, Minnikhanov continued to be involved in industry, serving as chairman of the board of directors of the oil company
Tatneft
from 2005 to 2006.
[13]
In September 2021 Minnikhanov while still
President of Tatarstan
was elected chairman of the board of directors of aircraft manufacturer
Tupolev
.
[14]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Minnikhanov is married and fathered two sons.
[1]
His son Irek Minnikhanov died in the
Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363
crash on November 17, 2013.
[15]
Minnikhanov is a keen motorsports enthusiast and was a regular competitor in the
FIA European Rallycross Championship
, in 2007 driving a
Citroen C4
T16 4x4 with 550+bhp that was built and raced in 2006 by 14-time European Rallycross champion
Kenneth Hansen
of Sweden. For the 2008 and 2009 ERX series Hansen's team built a brand new C4 for Minnikhanov. In 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 Minnikhanov won the truck category of the
UAE Desert Challenge
(a
Rally Raid
competition) in the
United Arab Emirates
with his
Kamaz
4911 and in 2004 as well as 2005 he finished 3rd overall in the FIA European Championship for
Autocross
Drivers with a four-wheel-driven
Ford Puma
.
Minnikhanov is certified to fly a helicopter.
[16]
Sanctions
[
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]
In response to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
, the
Office of Foreign Assets Control
of the
United States Department of the Treasury
added Minnikhanov to the
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List
on 26 January 2023, which results in his assets being frozen and U.S. persons being prohibited from dealing with him.
[17]
Canada sanctioned Rustam Minnikhanov, together with his wife in April 2023.
[18]
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Минниханов Рустам Нургалиевич"
.
Вести.Ru
. 2010-01-22
. Retrieved
2010-03-28
.
- ^
Ismagilova, Elmira (2010-03-25).
"Рустам Минниханов ? президент в стиле Hi-Tech"
.
Вести.Ru
. Retrieved
2010-03-28
.
- ^
Medvedev nominates Minnikhanov as new president of Tatarstan
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
First President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev: Chronicle of events
(March 25, 2010).
"Rustam Minnikhanov has taken office as President of the Republic of Tatarstan"
; for more information, see the Russian version,
"Рустам Минниханов официально вступил в должность Президента Республики Татарстан"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Edwards, Ildar; Gabidullin, Maxim.
"The Tatarstan factor"
.
www.aljazeera.com
. Retrieved
2021-01-08
.
- ^
"U.N. human rights team aims for quick access to Crimea ? official"
. Archived from
the original
on 22 March 2014
. Retrieved
20 March
2014
.
- ^
"UNPO: Crimean Tatars: Turkey Officially Condemns Persecution by Russia"
.
unpo.org
. Retrieved
27 March
2018
.
- ^
"Russia's War Against Crimean Tatars"
. 12 April 2016.
- ^
Temirgaliyev, Rustam (19 March 2014).
"Crimean Deputy Prime Minister"
. Retrieved
19 March
2014
.
- ^
"Hardliner Candidate's Meetings Stir New Political Speculations in Iran"
,
Radio Zamaneh
, 24 April 2017
, retrieved
24 April
2017
;
"Explanation About the Meeting of Raisi and Putin's Special Envoy"
,
Iran Daily
(in Persian)
- ^
Rohollah Faghihi (26 April 2017),
"Is Putin interfering in Iran's presidential elections?"
,
Al-Monitor
, retrieved
27 April
2017
- ^
"Veep: West sanctions created suitable opportunity for Iran, Russia to develop ties"
,
IRNA
, 19 April 2017, archived from
the original
on 24 April 2017
, retrieved
24 April
2017
- ^
Davison, Jennifer-Anne (2008-04-29). "Power dynamics in Russian-Tatarstani relations: A case study". Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: University of Victoria: 27.
- ^
"Президент Татарстана возглавил совет директоров Туполева"
(in Russian).
Интерфакс
. 2021-09-16.
- ^
Авиакатастрофа в Казани: опубликован список 50 погибших
(in Russian).
ITAR TASS
. 17 November 2013.
- ^
"Рустам Минниханов: Стараюсь работать так, чтобы от меня была какая-то польза"
.
Российская газета
(in Russian). 25 January 2010
. Retrieved
2021-05-25
.
- ^
"Specially Designated Nationals List Update"
.
U.S. Department of Treasury
. 2023-01-26
. Retrieved
2023-03-27
.
- ^
"Canada imposes sanctions on Prigozhin's company"
. 11 April 2023.
- ^
Президент Татарстана награждён орденом Туркменистана ≪Гарашсызлык≫
External links
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Background
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Pro-Russian
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Lead figures (Russia)
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Lead figures (Crimea)
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Pro-Ukrainian
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Lead figures (Ukraine)
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Lead figures (Crimea)
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