Marina Kovtun will become Russia’s third ever female governor when she is inaugurated as Governor of Murmansk Oblast this week. The ceremony will take place on Friday 13 at 17:00, according to a source in the Kremlin, Blogger51 writes.
The former governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko was dismissed by President Dmitry Medvedev last week, as BarentsObserver reported.
Kovtun was born in Murmansk in 1962 and has lived and worked in the region all her life. She has held several positions in the regional administration within the departments for public social safety, for tourism, sport and culture, and for economic development. The three last years she has had high-ranking positions in the Norilsk Nickel regional subsidiary Kola Mining and Metallurgy Company, lately as Deputy General Director.
In December 2011 Marina Kovtun was elected to the Murmansk Regional Duma, where she took position as First Deputy Speaker and also became head of United Russia’s fraction.
In a statement posted on the regional government website, Kovtun says that she is ready to work for improved life conditions in the region. “For me, there are no white spots on the map of the Kola Peninsula. I was born and raised here, it was here I grew up. I live in an ordinary house and know the problems of ordinary people,” she stresses.
