Born March 1, 1956 in Perm into a family of oil industry workers.
Graduated in 1978 from the Perm Polytechnical Institute with a major in mountain engineering. During his studies interned with the Polaznaneft and Koineft oil companies as assistant driller.
Dec. 1996-Dec. 2000, mayor of Perm.
Dec. 2000-Mar. 2004, governor of the Perm region.
Mar. 9, 2004, appointed Natural Resources Minister of the Russian Federation.
Married, with two sons.
Hobbies: sports; holds a third dan in kyokushinkai karate.
