Viktor Zubkov

Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov (Russian: Ви́ктор Алексе́евич Зубко́в, IPA: [ˈvʲiktər ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ zʊpˈkof]; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the 36th Prime Minister of Russia from September 2007 to May 2008. He was Vladimir Putin's First Deputy Prime Minister during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev. A civil servant who held various positions in the Leningrad Oblast under the Soviet regime, he later served as advisor to Cabinet Ministers. Zubkov was a financial crime investigator until he was nominated on 12 September 2007 by President Vladimir Putin to replace Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who had resigned earlier that day. The nomination was approved in the Duma on 14 September 2007. On 7 May 2008 Zubkov's cabinet was automatically dismissed. This procedure, following an inauguration of the President of Russia is required by the Russian Constitution. After Putin became prime minister, Zubkov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation. Now in his 80's Zubkov is still the current chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom, Russia's largest corporation and one of the largest oil and natural gas companies in the world.