Vitaly Mutko

Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko[6] (Russian: Виталий Леонтьевич Мутко; born Viktor Leontiyevich Mutko; 8 December 1958[7]) is a Russian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2020.

Vitaly Mutko
Виталий Мутко
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In office
19 October 2016  15 January 2020
Acting: 15 – 21 January 2020
PresidentVladimir Putin
Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedev
Succeeded byMarat Khusnullin
Minister of Sport
In office
21 May 2012  19 October 2016
PresidentVladimir Putin
Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedev
DeputyPavel Kolobkov
Yuri Nagornykh
Pavel Novikov
Sergey Shelpakov[1]
Natalya Parshikova
Marina Tomilova[2]
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byPavel Kolobkov
Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy
In office
12 May 2008  21 May 2012
PresidentDmitry Medvedev
Vladimir Putin
Prime MinisterVladimir Putin
Dmitry Medvedev
DeputyYuri Nagornykh
Pavel Novikov
Oleg Rozhnov
Nadezhda Nazina
Pavel Kolobkov[3]
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byposition abolished
Russian Federation Senator
from Saint Petersburg
In office
29 October 2003  12 May 2008
Preceded byMikhail G. Mikhailovsky[4]
Succeeded bySergey Tarasov[5]
Personal details
Born
Viktor Leontiyevich Mutko

(1958-12-08) 8 December 1958
Kurinskaya, Apsheronsky District, Krasnodar Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma materSaint Petersburg State University
Awards
Signature

From 2008 to 2016, he served as the Minister of Sport of Russia.

Biography

Mutko was born on 8 December 1958 in the stanitsa of Kurinskaya of Apsheronsky District in Krasnodar Krai in the Soviet Union.[7][8] He started working as a technician on shipping vessels in 1977. In 1983, he was selected to work for the executive committee of Kirov district of Leningrad. He attended the Water Transport Institute in Leningrad, graduating from the River Vocational College in 1987. Before graduating from College, Mutko changed his name from Victor to Vitaly. In 1990, he was appointed as a member of the district council and the head of the district administration a year later. He also graduated from the Law Department of Saint Petersburg State University in 1999.[9][7]

In 1992, he became the deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg as well as the chairman of the City Committee on Social Issues. He served in both the positions until 1996.[10] Along with Vladimir Putin in 1994, who at the time headed the city mayor's committee for external relations, he helped organize the 1994 Goodwill Games which was the first major sporting event in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[11]

He also moved into sports administration and became the president of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in 1997. During his tenure, he oversaw the club's rise to sporting prominence as well as economic transformation.[12][9] He founded the Russian Premier League in 2001 and became its president, a position which he held until 2003.[13][14] He was appointed to the committee of Russian Paralympic Committee in 2002 and has also chaired committees and charities for helping people with mental disabilities.[9]

On 29 October 2003, he became a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament, representing the Saint Petersburg government.[13][15] He was elected as the President of Russian Football Union in April 2005, a position in which he served until November 2009.[16][17] Meanwhile, in 2006, he defended his doctoral thesis on "Correlation of Market and Public Regulators in the Development of Physical Culture and Sport" at the St. Petersburg State University and received a doctorate in economics.[18] He was appointed as the Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy on 12 May 2008 by President Dmitry Medvedev.[19] He was appointed as a member of FIFA's Executive Committee in 2009. He was also the chairman of Russia's successful 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.[20]

He was reappointed as Minister of Sport on 21 May 2012 by President Putin.[21][11] On 2 September 2015, he was appointed as the President of Russian Football Union for a second time without any opposition. Although government officials aren't allowed to hold top positions in sports organizations, an exception was made for Mutko in July 2015.[16] On 24 September 2016, he was elected as the President of the association for a term of four years after winning the elections with 266 votes against his opponent Valery Gazzaev who received 142 votes.[22]

On 19 October 2016, he was promoted to a Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.[11] His deputy Pavel Kolobkov was appointed to replace him as the Minister of Sport.[23] He was barred from standing in re-election as a member of FIFA Council in March 2017 due to his ministerial role that was against the statutes of political neutrality and the prevention of any form of government interference.[24]

He announced temporarily relinquishing his position on 25 December 2017 as President of Russian Football Union for a period of six months to appeal against his Olympic ban,[25] which was later lifted[26] by the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland. On 18 May 2018, he was re-appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while instead of sports issues, in the new cabinet, Mutko began to oversee the construction and development of regions.[27] Mutko resigned as head of Russian Football Union on 19 December.[28]

On 15 January 2020, he resigned as part of the cabinet, after President Vladimir Putin delivered the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, in which he proposed several amendments to the constitution.[29] On 21 January, he was replaced by Marat Khusnullin.[30]

On 29 January, Mutko was appointed as the chief executive officer of DOM.RF, a state-owned company involved in the mortgage and realty market.[31]

World Cup bid

Mutko was the chairman for Russia's successful bid to host the World Cup in 2018. He has, however, been criticised for his comments about the rival English bid, such as by suggesting that English football is corrupt. By way of explanation, he said: "What I meant was that sometimes the English media say there is corruption in Russia, but I meant that if you dig deeply you find corruption in any country".[32]

Corruption allegations

Mutko accompanied the Russian team to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Afterwards, a report by the Russian parliament's Audit Chamber[33] criticised him for claiming for a total of 97 breakfasts during the team's twenty-day stay in Canada,[34][35] costing a total of $4,500.[36] Each night in his hotel was charged at $1,499.[34] In total, Mutko is said to have spent twelve times his official limit.[33] Mutko told Vedomosti newspaper: "Why do those who want to accuse me of something not interest themselves in how much the French sports minister paid for accommodation?"[33]

Doping

On 9 November 2015, a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Mutko of overseeing a wide-ranging, doping scheme within Russian track and field. Dick Pound, the head of the commission, said, "It was impossible for him [Mutko] not to be aware of it. And if he’s aware of it, he’s complicit in it." It was further alleged that Mutko's agency had undue influence over RUSADA, the Russian anti-doping agency that should operate independently from influence of government or athletes.[37]

On 5 December 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Mutko for life from future Olympic Games for his role in the doping conspiracy.[38] The Court of Arbitration for Sport however lifted it in July 2019, after he appealed to it for overturning the decision of IOC.[39][40]

English Speech

In December 2010, when Mutko was at a meeting in Zürich with the executive committee of FIFA about the 2018 World Cup's host country, he delivered a welcoming speech in English with a strong Russian accent. This speech became well known as "Лет ми спик фром май харт" (Let me speak from my heart) and gained massive popularity on the internet. After the speech, Mutko claimed that he had been memorising the speech for two weeks, including in front of his family, and that the English speech was cyrillised.[41][42][43] Mutko's English was also the subject of nonstop jokes from the Russian government. In 2015, Dmitry Medvedev wished Mutko a happy birthday with broken English. Vladimir Putin also gave Mutko an English self-help book.[44]

Public positions

  • 2009 – Member of the FIFA Council[45]
  • Vice-president of the Football Federation of St Petersburg[46]
  • Founder and President of the Public Charity Foundation for Support and Development of Football in St Petersburg “Golden Pelican”[47]
  • President of the Special Olympic Committee of St Petersburg, conducting competitions for athletes with disabilities and developing rehabilitation programs for people with intellectual disabilities[48]
  • 2005–2009 – President of the Football Union of Russia
  • 2001–2003 – President of the Russian Football Premier League
  • 2015–2018 - President of the Football Union of Russia
  • 2020–present - CEO of Dom.RF

Sanctions

Vitaly Mutko is engaged in commercial activities in sectors of the economy that provide a significant source of income for the Russian government, which initiated military operations and genocide of civilians in Ukraine.[49]

On February 19, 2023, it was added to the sanctions list of Ukraine.[50]

Honours and awards

References

  1. "П. А. РОЖКОВ, А. В. ЦАРИК В УЧЕБНО-ТРЕНИРОВОЧНОМ ЦЕНТРЕ "НОВОГОРСК" ПРИНЯЛИ УЧАСТИЕ ВО ВСТРЕЧЕ ЭКСПЕРТНОГО СООБЩЕСТВА МИНИСТЕРСТВА СПОРТА РФ С ОТКРЫТЫМ ПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВОМ ДЛЯ ОБСУЖДЕНИЯ КОММЕНТАРИЕВ К ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ПРОГРАММЕ РФ «РАЗВИТИЕ ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ К". Russian Paralympic Committee (in Russian). 26 February 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  2. "Марина Томилова назначена заместителем министра спорта РФ". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  3. Stanislav Yankovsky (8 October 2010). "Пятый помощник для Мутко". Gazeta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  4. "Постановление Совета Федерации Федерального Собрания РФ от 26 ноября 2003 г. N 305-СФ "О прекращении полномочий членов Совета Федерации Федерального Собрания Российской Федерации"". Russian Government (in Russian). Jurbase.ru. 26 November 2003. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. "Экс-сенатор Сергей Тарасов погиб в "Невском экспрессе"" (in Russian). MR7.ru. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  6. "FIFA should investigate Mutko". Sky Sports. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  7. Russian Federal Government: Strategic Information and Contacts. IBP, Inc. 2015. p. 216. ISBN 9781329416611.
  8. "Putin has approved Mutko's appointment the Deputy Prime Minister for sport and tourism". REGIONS.ru. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. Alan Bairner, John Kelly, Jung Woo Lee (2016). Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics. Routledge. pp. 550–553. ISBN 9781317646662.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Vitaly Mutko". The Russian Government. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  11. "Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko appointed deputy prime minister". Deutsche Welle. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  12. "Vitaly Mutko's Russian football hold will strengthen Putin's power". The Guardian. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  13. Tom Balmforth (13 November 2015). "Vitaly Mutko: Doping Scandal Puts Putin's Sports Chief In The Spotlight". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  14. Dmitri Rogovitski (2 September 2015). "Mutko elected in Russia". UEFA. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  15. "Мутко, Виталий: Министр спорта, туризма и молодежной политики РФ" (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  16. "Sports Minister Mutko unanimously elected Russian Football Union chief". Russian News Agency TASS. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  17. "Russian Sports Minister holds on to post of football chief as coaches revolt". The Indian Express. Associated Press. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  18. "RIOU | Vitaly Mutko". www.olympicuniversity.ru. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  19. "President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees on the restructuring of the executive branch of power and personal appointments". Kremlin.ru. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  20. Mark Critchley (10 November 2015). "Russia doping crisis: Who is Vitaly Mutko, Russia's minister of sport at the centre of Wada's report?". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  21. Kenneth Rapoza (21 May 2012). "Thoughts On Russia's New Government". Forbes. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  22. Dmitriy Rogovitskiy (24 September 2016). "Mutko wins new term as Russian Football Union president". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  23. "Former Olympic fencing champion becomes Russia's new sports minister". Russia Beyond The Headlines. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  24. Homewood, Brian (10 March 2017). "Russian minister Mutko barred from FIFA re-election". Reuters. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  25. Vitaly Mutko to temporarily step down as Russia's football federation boss
  26. "Russian deputy PM Mutko wins Olympic doping appeal". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01.
  27. Мутко рассказал о своей новой должности в правительстве
  28. Russia's Mutko Resigns as Football Union Head
  29. Carroll, Oliver (January 15, 2020). "Russian PM resigns in shock move as Putin announces dramatic constitutional shake-up". The Independent. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  30. "Хуснуллин сформулировал первоочередные задачи Минстроя". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 22 January 2020.
  31. "Мутко назначен гендиректором госкомпании "Дом.РФ"". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 28 January 2020.
  32. Russian 2018 bid leader claims there is corruption in England, insideworldfootball.biz
  33. Vancouver Olympics spending scandal: How much does a Russian breakfast cost?, csmonitor.com
  34. Russia rests 2018 World Cup bid on belief that big and bold is best, Guardian
  35. Russia's Olympic spend-a-thon: By the numbers, theweek.com
  36. Auditor: Sports Minister Spent $4,500 on Vancouver Breakfasts, Moscow Times
  37. Gibson, Owen (9 November 2015). "Russia accused of 'state-sponsored doping' as Wada calls for athletics ban". Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  38. Ingle, Sean (5 December 2017). "Russia banned from Winter Olympics over state-sponsored doping". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  39. Doping: CAS lifts Olympic ban on former Russian Sports Minister Mutko
  40. "CAS 2017/A/5498 Vitaly Mutko v. IOC" (PDF). tas-cas.org. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  41. "Мутко поработал переводчиком с английского". meduza.io. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  42. "Russians told to mind their language – especially when it comes to English". the Guardian. 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  43. "Mutko Speech". Lurkmore.
  44. "Vitaly Mutko". GFSIS. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  45. "FIFA's official website". Archived from the original on May 22, 2012.
  46. "FIFA's official website". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012.
  47. "Russian International Olympic University". olympicuniversity.ru.
  48. "SoccerFolk". soccerfolk.org. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  49. "MUTKO Vitaly Leontievich - biography, dossier, assets | War and sanctions". sanctions.nazk.gov.ua. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  50. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №82/2023 Про рішення Ради національної безпеки і оборони України від 19 лютого 2023 року «Про застосування та внесення змін до персональних спеціальних економічних та інших обмежувальних заходів (санкцій)»" (in Ukrainian). 2023-03-04.
  51. "Vitaly Mutko: President of the Football Union of Russia". Football Union of Russia. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.