Head of Putin's 2000 election HQ appointed new chief of presidential administration

Dmitry Medvedev's appointment to the post of chief of the presidential administration was forecast back three and a half years ago, immediately after Vladimir Putin was elected Russia's President.

A St. Petersburg native, Medvedev headed Putin's election HQ in 2000, that is, he was really the closest member of the new Russian leader's team. In March 2000, in the wake of the elections, he said: "I know Putin's position: the oligarchs will all the same be removed from power." The thirty-eight-year-old chief of the Kremlin administration graduated from the faculty of law of Leningrad State University, just like the Russian President. Medvedev is believed to be an excellent legal expert. Kremlin officials also note that he is a good administrator and an honest person, "with a normal up-to-date way of thinking." This is what Putin himself says about Medvedev in his book "In the First Person": 'He worked at Leningrad University chair of civil law, was a candidate of legal sciences and a good expert. When I worked with Sobchak I needed people there, in the city hall apparatus. I turned for help to the law department, and they chose Dima. When I was deputy mayor, he was my adviser." "There's such a thing as the feeling of comradeship," Putin noted. He confessed he had this feeling while working with Dmitry Medvedev.

From a functionary's point of view, Medvedev, as the first deputy chief of the Kremlin administration, wielded authority - in particular, he drew up the working schedule of President Putin. Besides, since 2000, Medvedev represented the state in the Board of Directors of Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

Besides, as the first deputy administration chief, Medvedev also performed the functions of the chief in case Alexander Voloshin was away, signed labour contracts, as well as contractor's agreements, on behalf of the administration, ensured the preparation and observation of the President's schedule.

Medvedev's best-known project is state service reform. Describing the future transformations, he also said functionaries would be fired for inflicting damage upon the state, giving illegal instructions or disclosing a state secret.

While being first deputy chief of the Kremlin administration, Medvedev also co-ordinated interaction between the presidential administration and the government apparatus. Igor Shuvalov, appointed as Medvedev's deputy, before becoming the presidential adviser, headed the government apparatus and supervised the implementation of the administrative reform.

Medvedev was born in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg). He graduated from Leningrad University's faculty of law twelve years later than Putin. From 1990 to 1999 he worked as a teacher at St. Petersburg State University.

At the same time, in 1990-1995 he was an adviser to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council, an expert with the St. Petersburg City Hall External Relations Committee that the incumbent Russian President headed at that time.

When in 1999 Vladimir Putin was appointed Russia's Prime Minister, Medvedev became a deputy chief of the government apparatus, and, following the March 2000 presidential elections - first deputy chief of the presidential administration.

In Vladimir Putin's words, then (in 2000) he discussed with Voloshin who could be appointed to the post of the administration chief: "We talked about Dima Medvedev. Voloshin himself said: 'Let Dima work as a deputy chief, later he might replace me'." On October 30, when Medvedev's new appointment was announced, he was taking part in the meeting between Vladimir Putin and representatives of Russian and foreign investors, devoted to the development of Russia's stock market, as well as interaction between big Russian companies and infrastructure monopolies and minority shareholders.