Presidential envoy to the Volga region Sergei Kiriyenko has been appointed head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), replacing Alexander Rumyantsev.
The Nuclear Society of Russia (NSR) confirmed the appointment on 15th November 2005 and said it is being seen as the first step in giving Rosatom ministry status.
Mr Rumyantsev has held the position since 2001 [see News No. 111, 28th March 2001]. There has been no official confirmation of what Mr Rumyantsev’s will do next, although Russia’s media has speculated he may be offered a diplomatic post.
Mr Kiriyenko graduated from the shipbuilding faculty of the Gorky Institute of Water Transport Engineers and worked as a foreman at a shipbuilding plant where a number of nuclear-powered ships were produced, said NSR.
In 1997, he became first deputy minister for fuel and energy before serving as minister for fuel and energy. In 1998, he served as prime minister under president Boris Yeltsin. In 1999, he was elected a deputy of the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, and in 2000 became presidential envoy to the Volga region.
Rosatom has both civil and military responsibilities. A branch inside the agency, Rosenergoatom, supervises the building and operation of nuclear power plants. Rosatom’s department for the nuclear fuel cycle is responsible for facilities dealing with uranium enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing and storage.
