Hazret Medzhidovich Sovmen was the second President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 of the Republic of Adygea, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, having succeeded Aslan Dzharimov

Aslan Dzharimov

Aslan Aliyevich Dzharimov is a Russian politician of Adyghe ethnicity who served as the President of the Republic of Adygea.-Education:He graduated from the Agronomy Faculty of the Kuban Agricultural Institute in 1964, post-graduate degree in agricultural economics in 1968 , ANI of the Central...

 at the post. Sovmen is a university professor from Maykop

Maykop

Maykop is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea, Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River . Population: -History:...

. Before becoming President, Hazret Sovmen had been a successful businessman (with links to Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n entrepreneurs in Siberia), having started off as a bulldozer driver in a gold mine in Chukotka

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...

. He is the founder of Polyus Gold

Polyus Gold

Polyus Gold is a Russian mining and metallurgy company primarily concerned with the production of gold. Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia. Polyus is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's ONEXIM Group conglomerate and Suleiman Kerimov.In 1990 Polyus was restructured as...

, Russia's leading gold-mining company.

Early life

Sovmen was born in the aul

Aul

An aul is a type of fortified village found throughout the Caucasus mountains, especially in Dagestan.The word itself is of Turkic origine and means simply village in many Turkic languages....

of Afipsip in Takhtamukaysky District

Takhtamukaysky District

Takhtamukaysky District is an administrative and a municipal district, one of the seven in the Republic of Adygea, Russia. It is located in the westernmost portion of the republic and borders with Krasnoarmeysky District of Krasnodar Krai and with the territory of the city of Krasnodar in the...

 of Adyghe Autonomous Oblast in the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. He did his military service in the Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....

 and graduated from the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute

Saint Petersburg Mining Institute

The G. V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg State Mining Institute and Technical University is Russia's oldest higher education institute devoted to engineering...

. He started working at a gold mine in Chukota in 1961 and also worked on mines in the Krasnoyarsk Krai and Magadan Oblast. He became manager of the Polyus Mine in 1981. During his time as president, he was the only regional head without any spouse.

Political career

Sovmen was elected to the office of President on January 13, 2002 by direct suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

. He was faced with the challenges of leading one of a Russia's poorest republics, officially declared bankrupt by the Government of Russia

Government of Russia

The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister , the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers...

. Sovmen was involved in political activities with the Slavic people Union, Adygeya's principal opposition party. Russian president Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

 is believed to have supported Sovmen. In 1997, Russian President Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

 awarded him with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland

Order of Merit for the Fatherland

The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....

 3rd class. On January 13, 2007 he was succeeded as Adygean President by Aslan Tkhakushinov.

He is a member of the United Russia

United Russia

United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...

party.