Sergei Shmatko (Сергей Иванович Шматко) was born on Sept. 26, 1966. in Stavropol into a military family.

Education: Political economy, Ural State University (Sverdlovsk), 1990. Economics, University of Marburg (Germany), 1992. Military Academy of the Armed Forces Joint Staff, 2004.

1985-1988: Served on a nuclear submarine in the Soviet Northern Fleet

1992: Auditor at BDO Binder (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

1994: Director of RFI GmbH, which represented the Federal Property Fund in the European Union and advised potential investors in Russia

1995-1997: Moved back to Russia to become head of external relations at the All-Russia Bank for Regional Development (created in 1995). During this time, he also worked at the non-governmental Investment Research Institute.

1997-1999: Analyst at the Federal Nuclear Power Agency (Rosenergoatom), which operates Russian nuclear power stations. He has remained linked with the industry since then.

1999-2001: Economic adviser to the general director of the All-Russian Nuclear Energy Research Institute (VNIIAES)

2002-2005: Director of the State Foundation on Conversion

2005: Adviser to the director of Gazprombank

July 2005-2008 President of Atomstroiexport, the country's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly. Along with reactor operator Rosenergoatom, nuclear gear maker Atomenergomash, Atomstroiexport forms Rosatom's energy arm. Atomstroiexport builds nuclear reactors worldwide, including the controversial Bushehr plant in Iran, which has gone ahead despite concerns about nuclear arms proliferation. The company pursued partnerships with China, India, Bulgaria and other countries during Shmatko's tenure.

2008: Deputy director of Atomenergoprom

May 2008-present: Head of the newly created Energy Ministry, which was spun off from the Industry and Energy Ministry. His appointment was thought to signal a new emphasis on nuclear power (story).

Shmatko is married and has two children.