Sergey Nikolayevich Lebedev ( rus, Серге́й Никола́евич Ле́бедев, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; born 9 April 1948) is a Russian politician who has been the Executive Secretary of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS) since 2007. He had previously been General of the Army in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

and Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) from 2000 to 2007.

Early life

Lebedev graduated in 1970 from the

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

branch of

Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ) , image = NTUU KPI logo.png , image_size = 220px , caption = Seal of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute , established = 1898 , students = 36,000 (approximately) , admini ...

. A 1978 graduate (cum laude) of the Diplomatic Academy of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, Lebedev speaks German and English.

Early career

Before intelligence work, Lebedev served in the Army during 1971–72. He began his career in 1975 when he joined the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

. He began duties in the

First Chief Directorate The First Main Directorate () of the Committee for State Security under the USSR council of ministers (PGU KGB) was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence activities by providing for the training and management of cove ...

(foreign intelligence) in 1975. Lebedev was appointed as Director of the SVR on 20 May 2000. According to news reports, he was appointed to the post because President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

wanted "an intelligence chief whom he knows well and has confidence in". Putin and Lebedev met while serving in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

CIS Executive Secretary (2007–present)

Ilham Aliyev received delegation led by chairman of CIS Executive Committee

On 5 October 2007, Lebedev was elected the Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States and succeeded

Vladimir Rushailo Vladimir Borisovich Rushailo (russian: Владимир Борисович Рушайло; born July 28, 1953 in Morshansk, Tambov Oblast) is a Russian politician. While Rushailo was Moscow City Police General of the Moscow RUOP, he was in open c ...

.''Executive committee of CIS is headed by the chief of Russian Intelligence''

Lenta.Ru ''Lenta.ru'' (russian: Лента.Ру; stylised as LƐNTA.RU) is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to ...

5 October 2007 In 2019, powers as the Chairman of the CIS Executive Secretary were extended for 3 years.

Honors and awards

* Order of Bitaraplyk (2019, Turkmenistan)Президент Туркменистана подписал Указ о награждении Сергея Лебедева орденом «Bitaraplyk»
/ref>

Notes

References

Center for Defense Information Russia Weekly #238

Renaissance Capital Research Portal
KGB officers Russian people of Kazakhstani descent Directors of the Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia) 1948 births Living people Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation alumni Commonwealth of Independent States people Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Generals of the army (Russia) {{russia-politician-stub