Putin announced succession favourite: Dmitri Medvedev

Luni, 10 decembrie 2007, 18:29 English | Regional Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that he fully supported the candidature of the first deputy prime minister Dmitri Medvedev for the upcoming presidential elections. He made the announcement at a meeting with political party leaders. The announcement echoed on the market as the main index of the Moscow stock exchange reached a historical peak.

Medvedev is considered a liberal politician who maintains close ties with Russian business men.

Born in September 1965, Medvedev graduated the law school in his home city of Leningrad in 1987. After years of teaching at the Sankt Petersburg state university, he was named deputy prime minister in 1999 and in 2000 turned first deputy of the presidential administration chief. He has also served in the Gazprom board between 2000 and 2003.

Starting September 2003 he was named head of the presidential administration only to be named deputy prime minister in November 2005.