Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister of Finance
Born in 1957, Mikhail Kasyanov has been a major player in Russian politics and administration, deeply involved in resolving the country’s Soviet era debt problems. In 1993, Kasyanov was appointed the Head of the Department of Foreign Credits and External Debt at the Russian Finance Ministry.
Two years later, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance, a position he held until 1999, when he was promoted by Boris Yeltsin to Minister of Finance. In this role, Kasyanov served as Russia’s chief negotiator on restructuring the country’s Soviet-era debt with international creditors. In 2000, he was selected as the country’s Prime Minister, serving under President Putin. After being ousted by Putin in 2004, Kasyanov formed the People’s Democratic Union in 2006, of which he was elected party leader. In 2010 he helped to co-found the People’s Freedom Party.