Sergey Shoygu

Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu (Russian: Серге́й Кужуге́тович Шойгу́, Tuvan: Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served in the government of Russia as Minister of Defence since 2012. Previously he was Minister of Emergency Situations from 1991 to 2012 and briefly served as Governor of Moscow Oblast in 2012. He holds the military rank of General of the Army. He is also the President of the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers.

Early life and education

Shoygu was born in Chadan, Tuva, to a Tuvan father and a Russian mother. During his youth, he acquired the nickname Shaitan (Satan), due to the various stunts he engaged in. In 1977, Shoygu graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in civil engineering. Following graduation in 1977, he worked in the construction projects worldwide for the next decade, advancing from low levels to become an executive. In 1988 he became a minor functionary in the Abakan branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and then in Komsomol for a couple of years. In 1990 he moved to Moscow from Siberia and was appointed Deputy Chief of State Architecture and Construction Committee of the Russian Federation.