Ilya Klebanov is the Presidential Envoy to Northwestern Federal District.

Ilya graduated in 1974 from the M.I. Kalinin Polytechnical Institute in Leningrad where he majored in electrical engineering. After graduating, Klebanov moved up through the ranks of an electrical engineering company in St. Petersburg leaving in 1997 after spending 7 years as its head.

From 1997-1998, he was the First Deputy Governor of St. Petersburg with responsibility for the economy and industrial policy. Klebanov was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation responsible for Military Industries in May 1998. He was instructed to reform the arms industry while in this post.

However, this endeavour was met with strong opposition, when he tried to cut the industry's 170 organisations down. He held that post until February 2002, when Klebanov was appointed Minister of Industry, Science and Technology. This move was seen as a demotion by many. On 1 November 2003 he was chosen to be the Presidential Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District.

It has been suggested that this was part of a long running campaign to bring the Northern capital closer to Moscow.

External links

• Biography of Ilya Klebanov

Russian politicians