Medvedev, Dmitry Anatolyevich (1965– )

Russian lawyer and politician, president from 2008. A lawyer from St Petersburg, he worked closely with Vladimir Putin from the early 1990s, and when Putin became prime minister in 1999 he was brought to Moscow to assist in the government. He headed Putin's presidential campaign in 2000 and was made chairman of the state-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom, in June 2000. During the Putin presidency, he served as chief of staff from 2003 and first deputy prime minister from 2005. Putin, constitutionally barred from running for a third term as president, chose Medvedev as his successor. Medvedev won the March 2008 presidential election by a landslide margin, with 70% of the vote. He appointed Putin as his prime minister, which raised concerns in the West that Putin would hold the upper hand in the new double-headed government. President Medvedev has said he aims to build the rule of law in Russia, but in foreign affairs will continue Putin's tough line with the West.

Born in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), the son of college lecturers, he read law at Leningrad State University, securing a PhD in 1990. At university, he studied under Anatoly Sobchak, a leading democratic politician in late-1980s Russia. Sobchak became mayor of St Petersburg and Medvedev worked 1991–96 as legal advisor to the mayor's external relations committee, which was headed by Vladimir Putin.