Yevgeny Primakov

Yevgeny Primakov Евгений Примаков
Prime Minister of Russia
In office 11 September 1998 – 12 May 1999
President	Boris Yeltsin
First Deputy	Yuri Maslyukov Vadim Gustov Sergei Stepashin
Preceded by	Viktor Chernomyrdin (Acting)
Succeeded by	Sergei Stepashin
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 9 January 1996 – 11 September 1998
Prime Minister	Viktor Chernomyrdin Sergey Kiriyenko
Preceded by	Andrei Kozyrev
Succeeded by	Igor Ivanov
Chairman of the Soviet of the Union
In office 3 June 1989 – 31 March 1990
Preceded by	Yury Khristoradnov
Succeeded by	Ivan Laptev
Personal details
Born	Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (1929-10-29)29 October 1929 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	26 June 2015(2015-06-26) (aged 85) Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Russian
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1950s–1991) Independent (1991–1998) Fatherland – All Russia (1998–2002) United Russia (2002–2015)
Children	Alexander Nana
Alma mater	Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies Moscow State University
Occupation	Politician, journalist, diplomat, secret agent
Awards
Central institution membership 1989–1990: Candidate member, 27th Politburo 1989–1990: Full member, 27th Central Committee Other offices held 1991–1996: Director, Foreign Intelligence Service 1991–1991: Director, Centre for Strategic Research 1991–1991: Director, KGB First Chief Directorate 1989–1990: Chairman, Soviet of the Union

Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (Russian: Евге́ний Макси́мович Примако́в, tr. Yevgeniy Maksimovich Primakov; 29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, and chief of the intelligence service. Primakov was an academician (Arabist) and a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Primakov was born in Kiev in the Ukrainian SSR and grew up in Tbilisi in the Georgian SSR. His mother Jewish. His father, according to most records, was repressed in the Gulag. His mother was a doctor and cousin of the famous physiologist . He was educated at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, graduating in 1953 and did postgraduate work at Moscow State University.

His father, according to most records, was incarcerated and died in the Gulag, and Primakov never knew him. His real surname was Nemchenko. His mother was Anna Primakova, who worked as an obstetrician. He was educated at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, graduating in 1953, and did postgraduate work at Moscow State University. From 1956 to 1970, he worked as a journalist for Soviet radio and a Middle Eastern correspondent for Pravda newspaper. During this time, he was sent frequently on intelligence missions to the Middle East and the United States as a KGB co-optee under codename MAKSIM.