Aleksandr Vladimirovich Konovalov (, born 9 June 1968) is a Russian lawyer and statesman serving as the judge of the

Constitutional Court of Russia The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation () is a high court within the judiciary of Russia which is empowered to rule on whether certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia. Its objective is o ...

since 2025. From May 2008 to January 2020, he served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. He has the federal state civilian service ranks of

1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...

and Active State Councillor of Justitia of the Russian Federation.

Early life and education

Konovalov was born 9 June 1968 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. From 1986 to 1988, he completed compulsory military service in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. In 1992, he graduated from the

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

. While working at the prosecutor's office, he pursued extramural studies at the

Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University of Humanities () in Moscow, Russia is a coeducational theology, theological university for the laity affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. The university, established in 1991, ...

, where he received a degree in Eastern Orthodox theology. In 1999, he defended his

Candidate of Sciences A Candidate of Sciences is a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD-equivalent academic research degree in all the post-Soviet countries with the exception of Ukraine, and until the 1990s it was also awarded in Central and Eastern European countries. It is ...

thesis titled "Possession and Possessory Protection in Civil Law" at Saint Petersburg State University. In 2019, he earned his

Doctor of Sciences A Doctor of Sciences, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; ; ; ; is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many Commonwealth of Independent States countries. One of the prerequisites of receiving a Doctor of Sciences ...

degree from the

Kutafin Moscow State Law University Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) () is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational and public university, public research university, research university located in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1931. MSAL was renamed after Oleg Kutafin i ...

, having defended his thesis on "Principles of Civil Law: Methodological and Practical Aspects of Research".

Career

From 1992 to 2005 Konovalov served in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

prosecutor's office as assistant prosecutor of the Vyborgsky District (1992), investigator (1992—1994), Prosecutor of the Department for Oversight of Federal Security Laws Enforcement (1994—1997), Deputy Prosecutor of the Moskovsky District (1997—1998), Prosecutor of the Moskovsky District (1998—2001), and First Deputy Prosecutor (2001—2005), consequentially. From February to November 2005 he was the Chief Prosecutor of the

Republic of Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia between the Volga, Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to th ...

. Between 14 November 2005 and May 2008, he had been

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's Plenipotentiary Envoy to the

Volga Federal District The Volga Federal District ( rus, Приволжский федеральный округ, p=prʲɪˈvolʂskʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia, federal districts of Russia. It forms the south ...

. In May 2008 he was appointed the

in Putin's second cabinet. On 1 July 2008, he was appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Cooperation with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in the Field of Freedom, Security, and Justice. He remained in office during Medvedev's first and

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

cabinets. On 15 January 2020, Konovalov resigned as part of the cabinet, after

delivered the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, in which he proposed several amendments to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. On 31 January 2020, Konovalov was appointed Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the

. On 3 April 2025, President Putin nominated Konovalov for

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the

. On 16 April 2025, the

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

appointed him judge of the Constitutional Court.

Awards

* Order of Honour *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow The Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow () is an award of the Russian Orthodox Church, established in 1988. There are three classes. History The Order was created by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Pimen I, and the Holy Synod of 28 ...

, 2nd class

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konovalov, Aleksandr 1968 births Living people Lawyers from Saint Petersburg Politicians from Saint Petersburg 21st-century Russian lawyers 21st-century Russian politicians Saint Petersburg State University alumni Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University alumni 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation Active State Councillor of Justitia of the Russian Federation Russian prosecutors Justice ministers of Russia Judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Friendship Recipients of the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow