Viktor Zubkov

Viktor Zubkov

Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov (Russian: Ви́ктор Алексе́евич Зубко́в; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian politician and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Russia twice: from September 2007 to May 2008 and briefly in May 2012. He was Vladimir Putin's First Deputy Prime Minister during the Presidency of Dmitri Medvedev.

Zubkov was a financial crime investigator until 12 September 2007, when he was nominated by President Vladimir Putin to replace Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who had resigned earlier that day. The nomination was approved in the Duma on 14 September 2007. On 7 May 2008 Zubkov's cabinet was automatically dismissed. This procedure, following an inauguration of the President of Russia is required by the Russian Constitution. After Putin became Prime Minister, Zubkov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister.

Zubkov is also the current chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom, Russia's largest corporation and one of the largest oil and natural gas companies in the world.