Who is Sergey Lavrov? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov

Age: 74 Years, 74 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Maria Lavrova

children: Ekaterina Lavrova

Born Country: Russia

Diplomats Political Leaders

Height: 1.88 m

Notable Alumni: Moscow State Institute Of International Relations

City: Moscow, Russia

More Facts

education: Moscow State Institute Of International Relations

awards: Order of Honour
Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots
Order For Services to the Fatherland II class
Order

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Childhood & Early life

Sergey Lavrov was born on March 21, 1950 in Moscow. His father was of Armenian descent from Tiblisi, and his mother was Kaleria Borisovna Lavrova from Noginsk in Russia. She worked for the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade.

After graduating from high school, he attended one of the most prestigious and sought after institutions in Russia, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, where he studied international relations and graduated in 1972.

During his time in the university, he grew an affinity for languages and learned various languages like Sinhalese, Dhivehi, English and French.

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Career

Sergey Lavrov began his career working as an advisor in the Soviet Embassy in Sri Lanka. At that time, every student who graduated from the university was advised to work under the Foreign Ministry, and with his vast array of knowledge of the government and official language of Sri Lanka, he was a perfect candidate to hold this position.

He worked as an advisor from 1972 to 1976 and during this period Soviet Union and Sri Lanka had cordial economic relations and therefore Soviet Union began the production of natural rubber in the country.

He was also proficient in Devehi, the official language of Maldives, which aided him in maintaining ties with the country.

Apart from fulfilling diplomatic duties, he was a translator for the embassy and also the personal secretary to Rafiq Nishonov, who went on to become the 12th First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbek SSR.

After his tenure in Sri Lanka, he returned to Moscow in 1976 and began working in the Department of International Economic Organisations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this period he was mainly involved in analytics and worked closely with various international organizations like the United Nations.

In 1981, Sergey was appointed as the senior advisor to the Soviet Union at the United Nations in New York.

From 1981-1988, he held various offices within the Foreign Ministry. He was First Secretary, Advisor and then Senior Advisor at the United Nations for the Soviet Union.

He was appointed as the Deputy Head of the Department of International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1988 to 1990.

In 1990, he served as the Head of the Department of International Organisations and Global Problems and stayed in office until 1992.

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From 1992 to 1994, he served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and he was in-charge of the Human Rights activities and International Cultural Cooperation in the Commonwealth of Independent States post the dissolution of Soviet Union.

After his successful term as Deputy Foreign Minister, he assumed office at the United Nations as a Permanent Representative of Russia.

He was also the President of United Nations Security Council from 1995 to 2004.

He was appointed as Foreign Minister of Russia on March 9, 2004 by President Vladimir Putin. He was reappointed in 2012 by Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev and has held this office longer than any other minister in Russian history.

Political Views and Alignments.

Sergey Lavrov has had a major role in changing the political landscape of the world. In 2012, the Russian government backed the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and vetoed the United Nations Security Council imposing strict sanctions against the Syrian government.

In March 2014, during the Ukraine crisis, he stepped in as a spokesperson for Russian interests and proposed for Constitutional Federalism in Ukraine. He also put forward the idea that there should be recognition of linguistic minorities and that Ukraine should be a non-aligned state. However, his proposals were denied by the Ukrainian government and perceived it as abolition of Ukrainian sovereignty and statehood.

On many occasions, he has disapproved of the US government and condemned US sanctions against countries like Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Awards & Achievements

Sergey Lavrov is an impeccable diplomat, with many acclaimed feathers on his cap. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation, was awarded “Order of Merit for the Fatherland” in 1998, 2005, 2010, 2015 respectively.

He is also an honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Church and has also received the Order of Honor.

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He has been awarded a Medal of Honor and recognition for his work to bring harmony in the Caucasus, developing international security and promoting amiable relations between Republic of South Ossetia and Russia.

He has been recognized by the government of Kazakhstan in 2005, when they awarded him with Order of Friendship for promotion of peace and friendship.

He is also the recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru in 2007 for his outstanding civil and military merits.

He has received the Order of Friendship from various other countries like from Belarus in 2006 and from Vietnam in 2009.

On 19th August 2010, he was presented with the Order of St. Meshrop Mashtots from the Armenian government, for reviving amicable relations between the two governments.

He has also been awarded an honorary Doctorate in Diplomacy from the University of Piraeus, Greece in 2016.

He also received the Order of the Serbian Flag, 1st class in 2016 and Order of the Republika Srpska in 2018.

Family & Personal Life

Sergey Lavrov married Maria Lavrova in the third year of his studies. While he is believed to be strong and stubborn, his wife Maria is quite the opposite. They together have a daughter, Ekaterina Lavrova.

Ekaterina has described Sergey as a family man. According to her, he never missed out on important school events, taught her how to drive and was always the first to read her dissertation.

Trivia

Known for his interesting anecdotes while addressing the world, he is also a man with impeccable taste. He fashions himself as poet in his free time. An amateur guitarist, he also wrote the anthem for his institute. A heavy smoker, he has been known to collect knick-knacks related to smoking. He is also a lover of Italian cuisine, Scotch whiskey and folk, jazz music but football is his biggest passion.

Sergey Lavrov Biography