Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko

Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Якове́нко, born October 21, 1954 in Homel) has served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom January 2011. He is a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. While working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, he was in charge of multilateral diplomacy (UN, UNESCO and other international organizations, economic and humanitarian cooperation, human rights, environmental cooperation, climate change, education, culture and sport issues). Graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1976. Holds a degree of Doctor of Law. Has the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Yakovenko speaks Russian, English and French.

Yakovenko began his diplomatic career in 1976 and has occupied various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, including the Department of International Organizations, the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the United Nations in New York, the Foreign Policy Planning Department, the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the Department of Security and Disarmament, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna, and the Information and Press Department. Participated in numerous sessions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, the UNESCO General Conference, various OSCE forums, negotiations on conventional armed forces in Europe and confidence building measures, the IAEA Board of Governors meetings, the Russian-American Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation, and the G8 expert meetings. Headed the Russian delegation at the International Space Station negotiations (1993–1998).

Ambassador to the UK

In January 2011, Yakovenko was appointed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the post of Ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom, replacing Yury Fedotov.

Yakovenko has written several comment and opinion pieces for the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, to clarify his diplomatic position on topical issues.

• The West should swallow its pride and work with Russia to save the Middle East, 26 August 2015
• The West is mean to Russia, but let’s be friends, 22 June 2015
• Russia and Nato, 23 February 2015
• Ukraine: a case study in the failure to learn from history, 2 September 2014
• Ukraine crisis: Crimea is like Scotland, says Russian ambassador, 28 March 2014

• Biography of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko in Russian and other languages
• "Kremlin appoints new envoy to Britain". Moscow: RIA Novosti. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011. 

• Since 2011 - Ambassador of Russian Federation to the United Kingdom
• 2005-2011 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
• 2000–2005 - Spokesman, Director of the Information and Press Department, MFA
• 1997–2000 - Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna
• 1995–1997 - Deputy Director of the Department of Security and Disarmament, MFA, Russian representative at the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) Governing Board (Moscow)
• 1993–1995 - Deputy Director of the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation, MFA
• 1976–1993 - various posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and abroad

• 2009– - Vice-President of the Durban Review Conference (Geneva), Head of the Russian delegation
• 2000–2009 - UN General Assembly sessions (New York)
• 2000–2009 - UN Security Council meetings (New York)
• 2005–2009 - Head of the Russian delegation at the ECOSOC sessions (Geneva, New-York) 2006-2009 - Head of the Russian delegation at the UNECE Session (Geneva)
• 2006–2009 - Head of the Russian delegation at the Human Rights Council sessions (Geneva)
• 2008–2009 - Head of the Russian delegation at the Alliance of Civilizations annual forum (Madrid, Istanbul)
• 2008– - Head of the Russian delegation at the Special Session of the FAO Conference (Rome) 2008 - Head of the Russian delegation at the UNEP Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (Monaco)
• 2007 - Head of the Russian delegation at the UNESCO General Conference (Paris)
• 2007 - Vice-President of the UNIDO General Conference (Vienna), Head of the Russian delegation
• 2006–2007 - Head of the Russian delegation at the UNESCAP Session (Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan; Busan, Republic of Korea)
• 2006 - Russian Representative at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit (Havana)
• 2006 - Head of the Russian delegation at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (Paris)

• Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Moscow)
• Member of the Space Council, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)
• Member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL, Paris)
• Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA, Paris)