Sergey Kislyak

Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak (Russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak]; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mordovia in the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian legislature. Previously he served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States from 2008 to 2017. From 2003 to 2008, he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 1998 to 2003, he served as the Ambassador of Russia to Belgium and Russia's Head of Mission to NATO.

Dubbed "the diplomat's diplomat" by CNN, Kislyak was Russia's highest level presence in the U.S. during his nine-year tenure in Washington, D.C., a period of increasing political tension between the two countries. Kislyak became a key figure in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, receiving significant media coverage while denying that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. However, Kislyak's meetings with advisers to then President-elect Donald Trump became a subject of investigation by U.S. intelligence officials. In May 2017, Trump held a meeting with Kislyak and Sergei Lavrov and disclosed classified information about ISIS, an incident which was leaked to the press and became a scandal.

After nearly a decade in the U.S., Kislyak returned to Moscow in July 2017 and was formally relieved of his duties in August, succeeded by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov.

Kislyak was born in Moscow, to Ukrainian parents. He graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 1973 and the USSR Academy of Foreign Trade in 1977.

Kislyak joined the diplomatic service in 1977, working with the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1981 to 1985, he was the Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the Soviet Union to the United Nations in New York City. From 1985 to 1989, Kislyak was the First Secretary, Counsellor at the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Washington, D.C.

From 1989 to 1991, Kislyak was the deputy director of the Department of International Organisations at the Soviet Foreign Ministry. From 1991 to 1993, he was the deputy director of the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1993 to 1995, Kislyak was the Director of the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation. From 1995 to 1998, he was the Director of the Department of Security Affairs and Disarmament at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In 1998, Kislyak was the ambassador of Russia to Belgium with a residence in Brussels, and he also served as the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO. From 2003 to 2008, Kislyak served as a Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was Russia's negotiator on the six-party Iran denuclearization talks prior to his appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Kislyak became the ambassador of Russia to the United States on 26 July 2008, when he was appointed by then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.