Russian President Suggests to Appoint Andrei Belousov as Defence Minister

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, suggested to appoint Andrei Belousov as Minister of Defence, says the Telegram channel of the Federation Council.
In turn, Sergei Shoigu, the former Defence Minister, was appointed Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

According to Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President, Mr. Belousov's candidacy for the post of Defence Minister was suggested due to the fact that this department should be absolutely open for innovations, implementation of all pioneer ideas and creation of conditions for economic competitiveness.

"It is important to fit the economy of the power bloc into the country's economy. To fit it so that it corresponds to the dynamics of the moment," Mr. Peskov emphasized.

Senators will hold consultations on Mr. Belousov and other candidates for the heads of a number of federal ministries and agencies at the meetings of the committees on May 13 and at the meeting of the Federation Council on May 14.

Andrei Belousov has been in the public service since 2006. In 2006-2008, he was Deputy Minister of Economic Development. In 2008-2012, Mr. Belousov became Director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Russian Government. In 2012-2013, he became Minister of Economic Development.

In June 2013, Andrei Belousov became Assistant to the President and was reappointed to the post in June 2018. In January 2020, he was appointed First deputy Prime Minister. Andrei Belousov was a member of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation (2014-2020).

Since 2022, Andrei Belousov has also supervised the development of technologies for creating high-speed vehicles, intelligent control systems and new-generation transportation equipment. He has coordinated the development of advanced space systems and services.