Mikhail Bogdanov (diplomat)

Mikhail Leonidovich Bogdanov^[a] (Russian: Михаил Леонидович Богданов; born 2 March 1952) is a Russian diplomat.^[1] He is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Special Representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East.^[2] He is also Deputy Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.^[3][4][5]

Mikhail Bogdanov
Михаил Богданов
Bogdanov in 2018
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 June 2011 (2011-06-12)
President	Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin
Ambassador of Russia to Egypt
In office 21 January 2005 (2005-01-21) – 12 June 2011 (2011-06-12)
Preceded by	Nikolai Kartuzov [ru]
Succeeded by	Sergei Kirpichenko
Ambassador of Russia to Israel
In office 24 March 1997 – 1 February 2002
Preceded by	Alexander Bovin
Succeeded by	Gennady Tarasov [ru]
Personal details
Born	Mikhail Leonidovich Bogdanov (1952-03-02) 2 March 1952 (age 72) Moscow, Soviet Union
Alma mater	Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Awards	Order of Honour Order of Friendship

Early life and career

Bogdanov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1974.^[6] As student at MGIMO, he was the captain of the MGIMO basketball team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and, later, he played as a member of the Lokomotiv [ru] basketball team.^[1][b]

Mikhail Bogdanov worked in the Soviet embassies in South Yemen from 1974 to 1977, Lebanon from 1977 to 1980, and Syria from 1983 to 1989 and again from 1991 to 1994. He was Russian ambassador to Israel from 1997 to 2002, and ambassador to Egypt and concurrent representative to the Arab League from 2005 to 2011.^[6] A 1994 leaked diplomatic cable written by Bogdanov revealed that Russian diplomats were completely clueless in the aftermath of the accident that killed Bassel al-Assad.^[7]

Mikhail Bogdanov was appointed director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002, serving in this position until 2005. He has served as deputy foreign minister since June 2011, special presidential envoy for the Middle East since 23 January 2012,^[8] and special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa since October 2014.^[6] In a November 2015 news conference, Bogdanov said that Russia did not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization, since it had not committed terrorist acts on Russian soil, and maintained a legitimate presence in the Lebanese government.^[9]

During the Syrian Civil War, he acted as an intermediary between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition based in Turkey.^[10] He was allegedly debriefed by Randa Kassis, who is a friend of foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, after she had attended a speech by Donald Trump Jr. for the Fabien Baussart-associated Center of Political and Foreign Affairs think tank in Paris on 11 October 2016, after which she allegedly stated that she could serve as a back door communication link between the Trump administration and president Vladimir Putin.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]}

Personal life

He is married and has a son.^{[citation needed]} In addition to his native Russian, Bogdanov is fluent in Arabic and English.^[1][2]

Awards

• Order of Friendship^[6]
• Order of Honour^[6]

See also

• Mueller special counsel investigation

Notes

1. In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Leonidovich and the family name is Bogdanov.
2. BC Lokomotiv Moscow was supported by Russian railway workers and existed from 1923 to 1980. It was the dominant club in the USSR before the Great Patriotic War (World War II) but was less dominant afterward, and was relegated to a farm status later becoming the farm club Mineralnye Vody Lokomotiv (Russian: фарм-клуб минераловодский Локомотив), which existed as a farm club until 1994, and was in the Top Division of the Russian Championship, South Division from 1994 to 2003 but moved to Rostov-on-Don in 2003 becoming Lokomotiv Don, and became PBC Lokomotiv Kuban after relocating to Krasnodar in 2009.

References

1. "Богданов, Михаил Леонидович: Заместитель министра иностранных дел РФ" [Bogdanov, Mikhail Leonidovich: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation]. TASS (in Russian). 27 March 2024. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
2. "Богданов, Михаил Леонидович" [Bogdanov, Mikhail Leonidovich]. Энциклопедия на портале (pusk.by) (in Russian). 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
3. Императорское Православное Палестинское Общество — Википедия
4. "Президент Палестины Махмуд Аббас вручил ордена членам ИППО" [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented orders to IOPS members]. IOPS (ippo.ru) (in Russian). 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
5. "Награждение членов ИППО орденами и медалями Палестины" [Awarding IOPS members with Orders and Medals of Palestine]. IOPS (ippo.ru) (in Russian). 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
6. "BOGDANOV Mikhail Leonidovich". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russia. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
7. "Mikhail Bogdanov and the Syrian Black Box". Carnegie-mec.org. 18 March 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
8. "Mikhail Bogdanov appointed special presidential envoy for the Middle East". Kremlin. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
9. "Russia Says Hezbollah Not a Terrorist Group: Report". Ndtv.com. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
10. "Senior Russian Diplomat to Meet Bashar al-Assad in Damascus: Reports". Ndtv.com. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
11. MEE staff (24 November 2016). "Trump's son met Moscow-backed Syrian 'opposition' politician: Donald Trump Jr met Randa Kassis before US election, strengthening expectations Trump administration will side with Russia in Syria". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
12. Sallon, Hélène; Vitkine, Benoît (19 March 2017). "Fabien Baussart, l'intermédiaire proche de Moscou qui a fait venir Donald Trump Jr à Paris: Compagnon d'une opposante syrienne adoubée par le Kremlin, l'homme d'affaires cultive ses réseaux russes depuis le début des années 1990" [Fabien Baussart, the Moscow-close intermediary who brought Donald Trump Jr to Paris: A companion of a Syrian opposition leader endorsed by the Kremlin, the businessman has been cultivating his Russian networks since the early 1990s.]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
13. Piel, Simon; Tilouine, Joan (4 October 2016). "L'affaire Squarcini embarrasse la Direction du renseignement intérieur" [The Squarcini affair embarrasses the Directorate of Internal Intelligence]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
14. Crowley, Michael (March 2017). "All of Trump's Russia Ties, in 7 Charts". Politico. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
15. Cloud, David S. (17 November 2017). "Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 trip to Paris for lunch with Moscow-linked couple remains a puzzle". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
16. "Donald Trump Jr. Discussed Syria Conflict With pro-Russia Advocates in October: After Paris event, head of Syrian opposition group touts that she succeeded in conveying importance of Russian-U.S. cooperation on Syria through contact with President-elect Trump's eldest son". Haaretz. 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
17. Buncombe, Andrew (24 November 2016). "Donald Trump's son held secret talks on working with Russia to end Syria conflict: The 38-year-old's presence at the meeting has raised questions about what role Mr Trump's family will play in his administration". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
18. ABC News staff (2 March 2017). "For Donald Trump Jr., lingering questions about meeting with pro-Russia group: A key organizer briefed a top Russian official on soiree". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.