Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Incumbent Sergey Lavrov since February 24, 2004
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Style	Mr. Minister
Member of	Government, Security Council
Reports to	The President
Seat	Foreign Affairs Building, Moscow
Nominator	The President
Appointer	The President (after consultation with the Federation Council)
Term length	No fixed term
First holder	Andrei Kozyrev (post-Soviet era)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is a very important government official in Russia. This person is in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which handles all of Russia's relationships with other countries. Think of them as Russia's main diplomat!

This minister is one of five special ministers who report directly to the President. The others are in charge of defense, internal affairs (like police), emergencies, and justice. Even though they are part of the Cabinet, their main boss is the President.

The President chooses the foreign minister after talking with the Federation Council, which is like one part of Russia's parliament. Other ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister and approved by another part of parliament, the State Duma. The foreign minister is also a permanent member of the Russian Security Council, which helps the President make big decisions about national safety.

Foreign Ministers Through History

The role of managing Russia's relationships with other countries has changed a lot over time. Here's a look at how this important job developed through different periods of Russian history.

Tsardom of Russia: Early Diplomacy

In the old Tsardom of Russia, the people in charge of foreign affairs were called "Heads of Ambassadorial Prikaz." A "Prikaz" was like a government department. These officials helped the Tsars, like Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great, talk to other kingdoms and empires. They laid the groundwork for Russia's future international relations.

Some of the earliest known officials in this role include Ivan Viskovatyi and Andrey Vasilyev. Later, figures like Ivan Gramotin served multiple times during periods of change. These early diplomats were crucial in shaping Russia's place in the world.

Portrait	Name	Term of office		Head of State
Heads of Ambassadorial Prikaz
	Ivan Viskovatyi	January 2, 1549	August 2, 1562	Ivan IV
	Andrey Vasilyev	September, 1562	July 25, 1570
	Andrey Shchelkalov	November, 1570	June 17, 1594
				Feodor I
	Vasily Shchelkalov	June 30, 1594	May 1601
				Boris Godunov
	Afanasy Vlasyev	May 1601	May 8, 1605
	Ivan Gramotin	August 1605	February 14, 1606	False Dmitriy I
	Vasily Telepnev	1606	March 1611	Vasili IV
				False Dmitry II
	Ivan Gramotin	November 20, 1611	September 1612
	Fyodor Androsov (Acting)	September 1612	June 1613
	Pyotr Tretyakov	June 1613	May 16, 1618	Michael
	Ivan Gramotin	May 1618	December 21, 1626
	Yefim Telepnyov	December 22, 1626	July 30, 1630
	Fyodor Likhachov	September 21, 1630	December 25, 1631
	Ivan Gryazev	October 1, 1632	April 17, 1634
	Ivan Gramotin	May 19, 1634	July 19, 1635
	Fyodor Likhachov	September 21, 1635	September 1, 1643
	Grigory Lvov	September 1, 1643	December 27, 1646
				Alexis
	Nazary Chistoy	January 6, 1647	June 2, 1648
	Mikhail Volosheninov	July 4, 1648	April 1653
	Almaz Ivanov	September 28, 1653	March 10, 1667
	Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin	July 15, 1667	February 21, 1671
	Artamon Matveyev	February 22, 1671	July 3, 1676
	Larion Ivanov	July 4, 1676	December 21, 1680	Feodor III
	Vasily Volynsky	December 21, 1680	May 6, 1681
	Larion Ivanov (Acting)	May 6, 1681	May 15, 1682
	Vasily Golitsyn	May 17, 1682	September 6, 1689	Ivan V and Peter I (regency of Sofia Alekseyevna)
	Emelian Ukraintsev	September 6, 1689	April 19, 1699	Ivan V and Peter I
				Peter I
	Lev Naryshkin	1697	1699
	Fyodor Golovin	February 18, 1700	August 2, 1706
	Pyotr Shafirov	September 1706	1708
	Gavriil Golovkin	1708	15 December 1717

Russian Empire: A New Era of Diplomacy

During the Russian Empire, the role of foreign affairs became more formal. The "Collegium of Foreign Affairs" was created, and its presidents were key figures in shaping Russia's relationships with other powerful nations. These leaders helped Russia become a major player on the world stage.

Later, the title changed to "Ministers of Foreign Affairs." These ministers worked closely with the Emperors and Empresses, like Catherine the Great and Alexander I, to manage treaties, alliances, and international conflicts.

Portrait	Name	Term of office		Head of State
Presidents of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs
	Gavriil Golovkin	15 December 1717	January 20, 1734	Peter I
				Catherine I
				Peter II
				Anna
	Andrey Osterman	1734	1740
	Aleksey Tcherkassky	November 10, 1740	November 4, 1742	Ivan VI
	Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin	November 4, 1742	February 15, 1758	Elizabeth
	Mikhail Vorontsov	November 23, 1758	October 27, 1763
				Peter III
	Nikita Panin	October 27, 1763	April 10, 1781	Catherine II
	Ivan Osterman	April 10, 1781	May 2, 1797
	Aleksandr Bezborodko	May 2, 1797	April 6, 1799	Paul I
	Fyodor Rostopchin	April 6, 1799	February 20, 1801
	Nikita Panin	March 23, 1801	September 30, 1801	Alexander I
	Viktor Kochubey	September 30, 1801	September 8, 1802
Ministers of Foreign Affairs
	Alexander Vorontsov	September 8, 1802	January 16, 1804	Alexander I
	Adam Jerzy Czartoryski	January 16, 1804	June 17, 1806
	Andreas Eberhard von Budberg	June 17, 1806	August 30, 1807
	Nikolay Rumyantsev	February 12, 1808	August 1, 1814
	Ioannis Kapodistrias (Joint with Karl Nesselrode)	January 31, 1816	August 19, 1822
	Karl Nesselrode	1814	April 15, 1856
				Nicholas I
	Alexander Gorchakov	April 15, 1856	9 April 1882	Alexander II
	Nicholas de Giers	April 9, 1882	January 26, 1895	Alexander III
	Alexei Lobanov-Rostovsky	March 18, 1895	August 30, 1896	Nicholas II
	Nikolay Shishkin	September 1, 1896	January 13, 1897
	Mikhail Muravyov	January 13, 1897	June 21, 1900
	Vladimir Lambsdorff	January 6, 1901	May 11, 1906
	Alexander Izvolsky	May 11, 1906	October 11, 1910
	Sergey Sazonov	October 11, 1910	July 20, 1916
	Boris Stürmer	July 20, 1916	November 23, 1916
	Nikolay Pokrovsky	November 23, 1916	March 2, 1917

Provisional Government: A Brief Period

After the fall of the Russian Empire, a Provisional Government took charge for a short time. During this period, new foreign ministers were appointed to handle Russia's international relations during a very uncertain time.

Minister			Party	Term of Office		Prime Minister
Ministers of Foreign Affairs
		Pavel Milyukov	Constitutional Democratic Party	March 2, 1917	May 1, 1917		George Lvov
		Mikhail Tereshchenko	Independent	May 5, 1917	November 7, 1917
							Alexander Kerensky

Russian SFSR: Soviet Era Diplomacy

During the Soviet era, Russia was known as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The foreign affairs leaders were called "People's Commissars of Foreign Affairs" and later "Ministers of Foreign Affairs." They played a big role in shaping the Soviet Union's foreign policy.

Notable figures like Leon Trotsky and Georgy Chicherin held this position in the early days. For a long period, the main foreign policy decisions were handled by the central Soviet Union government. The RSFSR's own foreign ministry was re-established later.

Minister			Party	Term of Office		Head of State
People's Commissars of Foreign Affairs
		Leon Trotsky	Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolshevik)	November 7, 1917	March 13, 1918		Lev Kamenev
		Georgy Chicherin	Communist Party	April 9, 1918	July 6, 1923
Post abolished (1923–1944). Power transferred to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.
		Anatoly Lavrentiev	Communist Party	March 8, 1944	March 13, 1946		Nikolay Shvernik
Post abolished
Ministers of Foreign Affairs
		Mikhail Yakovlev	Communist Party	April 16, 1959	August 5, 1960		Nikolai Ignatov
							Nikolay Organov
		Sergey Lapin	Communist Party	September 5, 1960	January 20, 1962
		Mikhail Menshikov	February 1, 1962	September 11, 1968
						Nikolai Ignatov
						Mikhail Yasnov
		Aleksei A. Rodionov	Communist Party	September 11, 1968			May 7, 1971
		Fyodor Titov	Communist Party	May 7, 1971			May 28, 1982
		Vladimir Vinogradov	Communist Party	May 28, 1982			June 15, 1990
						Vladimir Orlov
						Vitaly Vorotnikov
		Andrey Kozyrev	Independent	October 11, 1990	December 26, 1991		Boris Yeltsin

Russian Federation: Modern Diplomacy

Since 1991, Russia has been known as the Russian Federation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs continues to be a very important role. These ministers work to build relationships, solve problems, and represent Russia's interests around the world.

Andrey Kozyrev was the first foreign minister of the new Russian Federation. Later, Yevgeny Primakov and Igor Ivanov held the position. Since 2004, Sergey Lavrov has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs, making him one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in recent Russian history.

Minister			Term of Office		Party	Cabinet	President
Ministers of Foreign Affairs
		Andrey Kozyrev	December 27, 1991	January 5, 1996	Independent	Yeltsin–Gaidar		Boris Yeltsin
						Chernomyrdin I
		Yevgeny Primakov	January 9, 1996	September 11, 1998	Independent
						Chernomyrdin II
						Kiriyenko
		Igor Ivanov	September 30, 1998	February 24, 2004	Independent	Primakov
						Stepashin
						Putin I
						Kasyanov		Vladimir Putin
		Sergey Lavrov	February 24, 2004	Incumbent	United Russia	Fradkov I
						Fradkov II
						Zubkov
						Putin II		Dmitry Medvedev
						Medvedev I		Vladimir Putin
						Medvedev II
						Mishustin I
						Mishustin II

Timeline

See also

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)
• List of Soviet foreign ministers
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)