Vitaly Mutko

Vitaly Mutko
Виталий Мутко
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
Assumed office
19 October 2016
President Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Minister of Sport
In office
21 May 2012 – 19 October 2016
President Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Deputy Pavel Kolobkov
Succeeded by Pavel Kolobkov
Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy
In office
12 May 2008 – 21 May 2012
President Dmitry Medvedev
Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Dmitry Medvedev
Deputy Pavel Kolobkov
Personal details
Born Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko
(1958-12-08) 8 December 1958
Kura, Krasnodar Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political party United Russia
Alma mater Saint Petersburg State University
Awards
Signature
This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Leontiyevich and the family name is Mutko.

Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko[1] (Russian: Виталий Леонтьевич Мутко; born 8 December 1958[2]) is a Russian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia since 2016. He was the Minister of Sport from 2008 to 2016.

Mutko was previously president of the Russian side FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, and is also the President of the Russian Football Union.

Biography

Mutko was born on 8 December 1958 in the village of Kura in Krasnodar Krai.[2] 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 Saint Petersburg, graduating from the River Vocational College in 1987. 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.[3][2]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6][3] He founded the Russian Premier League in 2001 and became its President, a position which he held until 2003.[7][8] 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.[3]

In 2003, he became a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament.[7] He was elected as the President of Russian Football Union in April 2005, a position in which he served until November 2009.[9][10] He was appointed as the Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy on 12 May 2008 by President Dmitry Medvedev.[11] 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.[12]

He was reappointed as Minister of Sport on 21 May 2012 by President Putin.[13][5] 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.[9] 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.[14]

On 19 October 2016, he was appointed as a Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.[5] His deputy Pavel Kolobkov was appointed to replace him as the Minister of Sport.[15]

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".[16]

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[17] criticised him for claiming for a total of 97 breakfasts during the team's twenty-day stay in Canada,[18][19] costing a total of $4,500.[20] Each night in his hotel was charged at $1,499.[18] In total, Mutko is said to have spent twelve times his official limit.[17] 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?"[17]

On 9 November 2015, a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Mutko of likely complicity in 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.[21]

Public positions

Honours and awards

References

  1. ↑ "'FIFA should investigate Mutko'". Sky Sports. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Russian Federal Government: Strategic Information and Contacts. IBP, Inc. 2015. p. 216.
  3. 1 2 3 Alan Bairner, John Kelly, Jung Woo Lee (2016). Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics. Routledge. p. 550 - 553.
  4. ↑ "Vitaly Mutko". The Russian Government. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko appointed deputy prime minister". Deutsche Welle. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Vitaly Mutko's Russian football hold will strengthen Putin's power". The Guardian. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 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.
  8. ↑ Dmitri Rogovitski (2 September 2015). "Mutko elected in Russia". UEFA. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Sports Minister Mutko unanimously elected Russian Football Union chief". Russian News Agency TASS. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Kenneth Rapoza (21 May 2012). "Thoughts On Russia's New Government". Forbes. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Dmitriy Rogovitskiy (24 September 2016). "Mutko wins new term as Russian Football Union president". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Former Olympic fencing champion becomes Russia's new sports minister". Russia Beyond The Headlines. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Russian 2018 bid leader claims there is corruption in England, insideworldfootball.biz
  17. 1 2 3 Vancouver Olympics spending scandal: How much does a Russian breakfast cost?, csmonitor.com
  18. 1 2 Russia rests 2018 World Cup bid on belief that big and bold is best, Guardian
  19. ↑ Russia's Olympic spend-a-thon: By the numbers, theweek.com
  20. ↑ Auditor: Sports Minister Spent $4,500 on Vancouver Breakfasts, Moscow Times
  21. ↑ Gibson, Owen (9 November 2015). "Russia accused of 'state-sponsored doping' as Wada calls for athletics ban". Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "FIFA's official website".
  23. ↑ "FIFA's official website". FIFA.
  24. ↑ "Russian International Olympic University". olympicuniversity.ru.
  25. ↑ "SoccerFolk". soccerfolk.org.
  26. ↑ "Putin Bestows Awards Upon Sochi Olympic Organizers". Sputnik International. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 "Vitaly Mutko: President of the Football Union of Russia". Football Union of Russia. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.