He was the boss of the Russian tax authorities, he was propelled Prime Minister of the country. After announcing a major overhaul of Russian institutions and a reform of the Constitution, exposed during his annual speech on the state of the nation, President Vladimir Putin proposed to the post of head of government Mikhail Michoustin, following the surprise resignation of the Prime Minister in place for almost eight years, Dmitry Medvedev.
The appointment of the current director of the Federal Tax Service is to be examined and confirmed by the State Duma on Thursday. A formality, the majority in the lower house of Parliament being acquired by the Russian president.
A 53-year-old Moscow civil servant, Mikhaïl Michoustine, who shares a passion for ice hockey with Vladimir Putin, is little known to the general public.
"A surprise appointment"
His profile as a technocrat lover of new technologies, who has remained far away from Russian political spheres, has taken some experts by surprise. "The appointment of an obscure second-rate unknown is a surprise, reports Nick Holdsworth, France 24 correspondent in Russia. Commentators had rather advanced other names, including that of Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow loyal to President Putin . "
An engineer and economist by training, he is presented by the Russian public media as an efficient servant of the state, creator of the "best tax collection system in the world", according to the Rossiya-24 television channel.
On the site of the Russian presidency, in the reports of his annual talks with Vladimir Putin, the results of his service and his action are duly praised by the Head of State.
"A person forged in the system"
Married and father of three, Mikhaïl Michoustine joined the Russian administration in 1998, held the post of vice-minister in charge of taxes, and worked in several government agencies.
After a two-year stint in the private sector, at the head of an investment fund, UFG Asset Management, he was appointed in 2010 to head the tax department with the mission of modernizing it in depth. Promoter of the digitization of the Russian economy, Mikhaïl Michoustine is at the origin of the creation of a centralized database supposed to improve the efficiency of tax collection and be accessible to all administrations.
"It is an unexpected candidacy, but that does not mean that it causes a rejection. He has a great experience behind him, rejoiced Ilias Oumakhanov, the vice-president of the Council of the Federation, the upper house of the Parliament He is a person who has been forged in the system.
Quoted by AFP, political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann believes that Mikhail Michoustin "is an ideologically neutral figure". During his presidential terms from 2000 to 2008, Vladimir Putin had already appointed sober officials who were little known to the public - like Mikhail Fradkov in 2004 - who had never tried to make money. shadow to the Russian president.
The announcement of major constitutional reforms and the change of government announced on Wednesday are perceived by analysts as well as by opponents as an indication that Vladimir Putin is now looking very seriously at his political future after the end of his last term as president, in 2024.
With AFP
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