Vladimir Yakunin

President of JSC Russian Railways

Vladimir Yakunin currently serves as President of JSC Russian Railways. He is also Chairman of the International Union of Railways, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre of National Glory, Founding President of the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” and Co-President of the French- Russian Dialogue Association.

Mr. Yakunin started his career as a junior scientist at the State Institute for Applied Chemistry. Then he proceeded with state service and worked as an engineer, then senior engineer for foreign relations at the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of USSR. Later on Mr. Yakunin was first and then second secretary of the Soviet Diplomatic Mission to the United Nations. Then he headed the North-Western Inspectorate of the Presidential Control Directorate of the Russian Federation. Since 2000 Mr. Yakunin was Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation. Since February of 2002 he worked as first Deputy Minister of Railway Transport and since October of 2003 as first Vice-President of Joint Stock Company Russian Railways. On June 14, 2005 Mr. Yakunin was appointed President of JSC Russian Railways.

In 1978 Mr. Yakunin graduated from Leningrad Mechanical University,Department for Aircraft Construction. Later, he received his doctorate degree in Political Science. At present, Mr. Yakunin is a scientific advisor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Governance and Problem Analysis Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of State Policy Department at the Politology Faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University, and a visiting professor of the Stockholm School of Economics.

Mr. Yakunin has been honoured with the following State Orders: Order of Honour, Order of Friendship, and Order for Merit to the Fatherland of the 4th class. He has been honoured the Medal for Military Merit and the Medal for the Development of Railways and holds the Russian Federation Government Prize in Science and Technology.