View source for Rustam Minnikhanov

{{Short description|President of Tatarstan since 2010 (born 1957)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{family name hatnote|Nurgaliyevich|Minnikhanov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = {{Nowrap|Rustam Minnikhanov}}
| native_name         = {{Nobold|{{lang|ru|Рустам Минниханов}}<br />{{lang|tt|Рөстәм Миңнеханов|italics=no}}}}
| nationality         = Russian
| image               = Rustam Minnikhanov official photo 06 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2020
| imagesize           = 
| office              = 2nd [[Head of Tatarstan]]
| term_start          = {{start date|2010|03|25|df=y}}
| term_end            = 
| predecessor         = [[Mintimer Shaimiev]]
| successor           = 
| primeminister       = Ravil Muratov {{Small|(acting)}}<br />[[Ildar Khalikov]]<br />Alexei Pesoshin
| office2             = [[Prime Minister of Tatarstan]]
| term_start2         = 10 July 1998
| term_end2           = 25 March 2010
| predecessor2        = [[Mintimer Shaimiev]] (acting)
| successor2          = [[Ildar Khalikov]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1957|03|01|df=y}}
| birth_place         = Novyi Arysh, Tatar ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| spouse              = Gulsina Minnikhanova
| children            = 2
| party               = [[United Russia]]
| vicepresident       = 
| alma_mater          = Kazan Agricultural Institute 
                      Correspondence Institute of Soviet Trade (Moscow)
| office4             = Minister of Finance of [[Tatarstan]]
| term_start4         = 1996
| term_end4           = 10 July 1998
}}
'''Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov'''{{efn|{{langx|ru|Рустам Нургалиевич Минниханов}}; {{langx|tt-Cyrl|Рөстәм Нургали улы Миңнеханов|translit=Röstäm Nurğali ulı Miñnexanov}}}} (born 1 March 1957) is a Russian politician who has served as the [[head of Tatarstan]], a [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subject]] of [[Russia]], since 2010.

==Early life and education==
Rustam Minnikhanov was born on 1 March 1957, in a [[Volga Tatars|Volga Tatar]] family in the New Arysh{{efn|{{langx|ru|Новый Арыш|Novyi Arysh}}; {{langx|tt-Cyrl|Яңа Арыш|translit=Yaña Arış}}}} village of [[Rybno-Slobodsky District]] in the [[Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tatar ASSR]].

He graduated from [[Kazan]] Agricultural Institute in 1978 as mechanical engineer and from Correspondence Institute of Soviet Trade as a commodity expert in 1986. He is a doctor of economic sciences.<ref name="vesti_bio">{{Cite web
| title = Минниханов Рустам Нургалиевич
| work = Вести.Ru
| access-date = 2010-03-28
| date = 2010-01-22
| url = http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=337248
}}</ref>

== Career ==
After graduating from the institute in 1978, he began his career as an engineer in [[Sabinsky District]] Association of ''Selkhoztekhnika''. He then worked in the district as a senior engineer and chief power engineer in a state timber industry enterprise and was deputy chairman of District Consumer Society Board.

From 1985 to 1993, he worked in [[Arsky District]] as chairman of the District Consumer Society Board, Chairman of the Executive Committee of People's Deputies District Council, First Deputy Head of District Administration.

In 1993 he was appointed head of [[Vysokogorsky District]] administration.

===Minister of Finance (1996–1998)===
In November 1996 Minnikhanov was appointed minister of finance of the [[Republic of Tatarstan]].

===Prime Minister of Tatarstan (1998–2010)===
From 10 July 1998 to 25 March 2010, Minnikhanov was prime minister of the Republic of Tatarstan.<ref name="vesti_bio" />

As prime minister, he was known for his enthusiasm for technological innovation, spearheading the republic's move to digital, paperless government and the streamlining of official business through the use of electronically distributed documents and electronic signing of official documents.<ref name="vesti_hitech">{{Cite web|last=Ismagilova|first=Elmira|date=2010-03-25|title=Рустам Минниханов – президент в стиле Hi-Tech|url=http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=349287|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2010-03-28|work=Вести.Ru}}</ref>

===President of Tatarstan (2010–2021)===
On 27 January 2010, Russian President [[Dmitry Medvedev]] nominated Minnikhanov to be the new president of Tatarstan<ref>[http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14762979&PageNum=0 Medvedev nominates Minnikhanov as new president of Tatarstan]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and on 25 March 2010, Minnikhanov formally assumed the office of President.<ref>''First President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev: Chronicle of events'' (March 25, 2010). [http://shaimiev.tatar.ru/eng/news/view/74419 "Rustam Minnikhanov has taken office as President of the Republic of Tatarstan"]; for more information, see the Russian version, [http://shaimiev.tatar.ru/news/view/74414 "Рустам Минниханов официально вступил в должность Президента Республики Татарстан"].</ref> His ceremony was presented on [[Channel One Russia]] by [[Maxim Sharafutdinov]].

===Head of Tatarstan (2021-present)===
[[File:Rustam Minnikhanov in Kazakhstan (2023-09-25) 69.jpg|thumb|Minnikhanov with Kazakh President [[Kassym-Jomart Tokayev]] in Astana, Kazakhstan, 25 September 2023]]
[[File:Рустам Минниханов дарит цветы Татьяне Бакальчук во время встречи. 25 марта 2024 года. Tatarstan.ru.jpg|thumb|Minnikhanov with Russian-Korean billionaire [[Tatyana Kim]], 25 March 2024]]
[[File:Minnikhanov on 15th OIC Summit 44.jpg|thumb|Minnikhanov at the 15th Summit of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], 4 May 2024]]
In December 2021, Putin signed a law abolishing regional presidencies, and as such Minnikhanov's title, despite protests from Tatarstan’s regional assembly and other cultural and political figures. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/08/04/russias-tatar-minority-mourns-loss-of-regional-presidency-a78489 | title=Russia's Tatar Minority Mourns Loss of Regional Presidency | date=4 August 2022 }}</ref>

====2014 welcome committee for Crimea====
During the [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]], Minnikhanov acted as a mediator between the Kremlin government and the [[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]] community over concerns raised amongst Crimean Tatars over potential persecution by Russia should it annex the peninsula.<ref name=aljazeera.com>{{Cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=Ildar|last2=Gabidullin|first2=Maxim|date=|title=The Tatarstan factor|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/15/crimea-crisis-the-tatarstan-factor|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-08|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref> On 5 March Minnikhanov signed an agreement on co-operation between Tatarstan and the Aksyonov government in Crimea that implied collaboration between ten government institutions as well as significant financial aid to Crimea from Tatarstan businesses.<ref name="aljazeera.com" /> On 11 March Minnikhanov was in Crimea on his second visit and attended as a guest in the Crimean parliament chamber during the vote on the declaration of sovereignty pending 16 March referendum.<ref name="aljazeera.com" /> The Tatarstan Mufti [[Kamil Samigullin]] invited Crimean Tatars to study in madrasas in [[Kazan]], and declared support for their "brothers in faith and blood".<ref name="aljazeera.com" />

Following news of Crimea's independence [[2014 Crimean status referendum|referendum]] organized with the help of Russia on 16 March 2014, the Kurultai leadership voiced concerns of renewed persecution, as commented by a U.S. official before the visit of a UN human rights team to the peninsula.<ref name=untr>{{cite web|title=U.N. human rights team aims for quick access to Crimea – official|url=http://www.trust.org/item/20140319210920-t5yh9/|access-date=20 March 2014|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322002441/http://www.trust.org/item/20140319210920-t5yh9/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the same time, Minnikhanov was dispatched to Crimea to quell Crimean Tatars' concerns and to state that "in the 23 years of Ukraine's independence the Ukrainian leaders have been using Crimean Tatars as pawns in their political games without doing them any tangible favors". The issue of Crimean Tatar persecution by Russia has since been raised regularly on an international level.<ref name=unpo>{{cite web|url=http://unpo.org/article/17913|title=UNPO: Crimean Tatars: Turkey Officially Condemns Persecution by Russia|website=unpo.org|date=2 November 2009 |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://politicalperiscope.com/crimean-tatars-russia/|title = Russia's War Against Crimean Tatars|date = 12 April 2016}}</ref> On 18 March, the day Crimea was annexed by Russia, and Crimean Tatar was ''[[de jure]]'' declared one of the three official languages of Crimea. It was also announced that Crimean Tatars will be required to relinquish coastal lands on which they squatted since their return to Crimea in the early 1990s and be given land elsewhere in Crimea. Crimea stated it needed the relinquished land for "social purposes", since part of this land is occupied by the Crimean Tatars without legal documents of ownership.<ref name=riaru>{{cite web|last=Temirgaliyev|first=Rustam|title=Crimean Deputy Prime Minister|date=19 March 2014|url=http://en.ria.ru/world/20140319/188544777/Crimean-Tatars-Will-Have-to-Vacate-Land--Official.html|access-date=19 March 2014}}</ref> The situation was caused by the inability of the [[USSR]] (and later Ukraine) to sell the land to Crimean Tatars at a reasonable price instead of giving back to the Tatars the land owned before deportation, once they or their descendants returned from Central Asia (mainly [[Uzbekistan]]). As a consequence, some Crimean Tatars settled as squatters, occupying land that was not legally registered.

====2017 Iranian envoy====
On 20 April 2017 Minnikhanov was Putin's envoy to meet with candidate [[Ebrahim Raisi]] in [[Mashhad]] in Raisi's capacity as Head of [[Astan Quds Razavi]]. MP [[Alireza Rahimi (politician)|Alireza Rahimi]] questioned the meeting and asked for explanations about the reasons for it, citing alleged [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election]]. “The recent meeting raises the suspicion of interference in the elections, which is not appropriate”, he said.<ref>{{citation|url=https://en.radiozamaneh.com/articles/hardliner-candidates-meetings-stir-new-political-speculations-in-iran/|title=Hardliner Candidate's Meetings Stir New Political Speculations in Iran|work=Radio Zamaneh|date=24 April 2017|access-date=24 April 2017}}; {{citation|url=http://www.iran-newspaper.com/newspaper/page/6478/3/180747/0|title=Explanation About the Meeting of Raisi and Putin's Special Envoy|work=Iran Daily|language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/iran-tatarstan-president-raisi-meeting-russia-interference.html|title=Is Putin interfering in Iran's presidential elections?|work=Al-Monitor|date=26 April 2017|access-date=27 April 2017|author=Rohollah Faghihi}}</ref> According to the official [[Islamic Republic News Agency]], Minnikhanov also met vice president [[Eshaq Jahangiri]] in [[Tehran]] one day earlier, discussing bilateral relations.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www8.irna.ir/en/News/82499290/|title=Veep: West sanctions created suitable opportunity for Iran, Russia to develop ties|work=IRNA|date=19 April 2017|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424091453/http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82499290/|archive-date=24 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Other presidential duties====
On 18 March 2022 Minnikhanov met and awarded [[2022 European Figure Skating Championships|2022 European figure skating champion]] and [[Kamila Valieva#Official probe into allegations of doping and misconduct|provisional 2022 Olympic gold medallist]] [[Kamila Valieva]] a “[[Duslyk]]” order and to her mother Alsu Valieva a medal of “100 years of the Establishment of [[TASSR]]”.

==Corporate directorships==
During his tenure as republican prime minister, Minnikhanov continued to be involved in industry, serving as chairman of the board of directors of the oil company [[Tatneft]] from 2005 to 2006.<ref name="davison">{{Cite journal
| publisher = University of Victoria
| last = Davison
| first = Jennifer-Anne
| title = Power dynamics in Russian-Tatarstani relations: A case study
| location = Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| date = 2008-04-29
| page=27
}}</ref>

In September 2021 Minnikhanov while still [[President of the Republic of Tatarstan|President of Tatarstan]] was elected chairman of the board of directors of aircraft manufacturer [[Tupolev]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.interfax.ru/business/791730|title=Президент Татарстана возглавил совет директоров Туполева|language=ru|date=2021-09-16|publisher=[[Интерфакс]]}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:White Mosque, Laishevo (2024-02-26) 06.jpg|thumb|Minnikhanov sitting in the White Mosque in Tatarstan, 26 February 2024]]
Minnikhanov is married and fathered two sons.<ref name="vesti_bio" /> His son Irek Minnikhanov died in the [[Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363]] crash on 17 November 2013.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[ITAR TASS]]|url=http://ria.ru/incidents/20131117/977485184.html|script-title=ru:Авиакатастрофа в Казани: опубликован список 50 погибших|date=17 November 2013|language=ru}}</ref>

Minnikhanov is a keen motorsports enthusiast and was a regular competitor in the [[FIA European Rallycross Championship]], in 2007 driving a [[Citroën C4]] T16 4x4 with 550+bhp that was built and raced in 2006 by 14-time European Rallycross champion [[Kenneth Hansen (rallycross)|Kenneth Hansen]] of Sweden. For the 2008 and 2009 ERX series Hansen's team built a brand new C4 for Minnikhanov. In 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 Minnikhanov won the truck category of the [[UAE Desert Challenge]] (a [[Rally Raid]] competition) in the [[United Arab Emirates]] with his [[Kamaz]] 4911 and in 2004 as well as 2005 he finished 3rd overall in the FIA European Championship for [[FIA autocross|Autocross]] Drivers with a four-wheel-driven [[Ford Puma (sport compact)|Ford Puma]].

Minnikhanov is certified to fly a helicopter.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Рустам Минниханов: Стараюсь работать так, чтобы от меня была какая-то польза|url=https://rg.ru/2010/01/24/reg-volga-kama/minnihanov.html|access-date=2021-05-25|website=Российская газета|date=25 January 2010 |language=ru}}</ref>

=== Sanctions ===
[[File:Minnikhanov-Putin meeting (2023-01-23).jpg|thumb|Minnikhanov with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in the Kremlin in Moscow, 23 January 2023]]
In response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]] of the [[United States Department of the Treasury]] added Minnikhanov to the [[Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List]] on 26 January 2023, which results in his assets being frozen and U.S. persons being prohibited from dealing with him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20230126|title=Specially Designated Nationals List Update|newspaper=U.S. Department of Treasury|date=2023-01-26|access-date=2023-03-27}}</ref> Canada sanctioned Rustam Minnikhanov, together with his wife in April 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada imposes sanctions on Prigozhin's company |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/04/11/7397445/ |date=11 April 2023}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
*[[Order of Merit for the Fatherland|Order of Merit for the Fatherland 4th class]]
*[[Order of Friendship]]
*[[Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg"]]
*[[Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan"]]
*[[Awards of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Russia|Medal "For Distinction in Eliminating the Effects of Emergency Situations"]] (EMERCOM)
*Order "For Merit to the Republic of Tatarstan"
*[[:ru:Орден «Гарашсызлык»|Order Garaşsyzlyk]] (2021) <ref>[https://turkmenportal.com/blog/39998/prezident-tatarstana-nagrazhden-ordenom-turkmenistana-garashsyzlyk Президент Татарстана награждён орденом Туркменистана «Гарашсызлык»]</ref>
*[[Dostlug Order]] (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan On awarding the “Dostlug” Order to R.N. Minnikhanov » Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic |url=https://president.az/en/articles/view/67532 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=president.az |language=en}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|before=[[Mintimer Shaimiev]]|title=[[Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan|Prime Minister of Tatarstan]]|years=July 10, 1998 – March&nbsp;25,&nbsp;2010|after=[[Ildar Khalikov]]}}
{{succession box|before=[[Mintimer Shaimiev]]|title=[[Head of Tatarstan]]|years=March&nbsp;25,&nbsp;2010–|after=Incumbent}}
{{s-end}}

{{Presidents of the Republic of Tatarstan}}
{{Current heads of federal subjects of Russia}}
{{Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnikhanov, Rustam}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Tatarstan]]
[[Category:Heads of Tatarstan]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Tatarstan]]
[[Category:Politicians of Tatarstan]]
[[Category:United Russia politicians]]
[[Category:Tatar people of Russia]]
[[Category:Tatar politicians]]
[[Category:Volga Tatar people]]
[[Category:Russian Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:Russian aviators]]
[[Category:Russian racing drivers]]
[[Category:Helicopter pilots]]
[[Category:People of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]]
[[Category:Russian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions]]
[[Category:Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian politicians]]
[[Category:FIA European Rallycross Championship drivers]]