Dmitry Kozak Politician

Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak (Russian: Дми́трий Никола́евич Коза́к; IPA: [ˈdmʲitrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kɐˈzak]; born November 7, 1958), is a Russian politician, serving since October 2008 as deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.He was previously a regional development minister in the Russian cabinet, headed by Viktor Zubkov. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Southern Federal District (North Caucasus and Southern European Russia).Dmitry Kozak is known as a close ally of Vladimir Putin, having worked with him in the St Petersburg city administration during the 1990s and later becoming one of the key figures in Putin's presidential team. During the 2004 Russian presidential election he was head of Putin’s election campaign team. Kozak was one of several members of Putin's circle touted in the media as a possible candidate to succeed Putin as president in 2008.Kozak is married and has two sons.