Person of day - 26 MARCH 2023
ARKADY DVORKOVICH
Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich was born on 26th March 1972 in Moscow in the family of renowned arbiter Vladimir Dvorkovic and his wife Galina. Arkady was the youngest child in the family and he began to play chess in his childhood, alongside his older brother Mikhail.
Arkady Dvorkovich graduated from Middle School 444 in Moscow with after a thorough study of mathematics and applied mathematics and then from the economics faculty at Moscow State University in 1994, with a thesis on “economic cybernetics” in 1994. He also received a master’s diploma from the Russian Economics School in 1994 and Duke University in 1997.
In the 1990s, he was a young consulting economist, senior expert and, later, director general and CTO of the Economic Experts’ Group, which worked with the Russian Finance Ministry’s macroeconomic department. In 2000, the economic expert was invited to join the Centre of Strategic Initiative headed by Herman Gref, where Dvorkovich was responsible for developing budget and tax policy.
In March 2000, Arkady Dvorkovich co-authored the Economic Strategy of Russia for the First Decade of the XXI Century. Several suggestions of this document, which was composed in absolute secrecy, became government policy that was created in the Centre of Strategic Initiative. Dvorkovich became advisor to Gref when the latter was Russia’s Economic and Trade Minister, and then his deputy in 2001. In 2004, he became the chairman of the board of directors to the Agency for Mortgage and Housing Credit and the head of the President’s expert advisors.
After Dmitry Medvedev became President in 2008, Arkady Dvorkovich was appointed his assistant and representative to the group of leading industrial nations and the G8.
In 2006, Arkady Dvorkovich was appointed to play a part in the government of the Russian Football Union, but, only a year later, he transferred to the sport his father worked in. From 2007, he has been the first Vice-President of the Russian Chess Federation. Thanks to this notable politician, tens of tournaments have been staged in Russia, cooperation with sports school has been established and the 64-square game has been promoted.
From 2010-2014, he was the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation. Arkady Dvorkovich brought a new team with him, one which achieved a lot: the Russian Cup was resurrected, multiple children’s tournaments were organised, media work was normalised and Russia’s chess life was energised. Arkady Dvorkovich was very active in organising a tournament to commemorate his father in Taganrog. In Moscow, Dvorkovich Parlour was established, which continues to host multiple tournaments and a chess school.
In 2012-2018, Dvorkovich held the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in charge of the energy sector and the head of the government commission with oversight of food markets. In 2015-2018, Arkady Dvorkovich was the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Russian Railways.
Arkady Dvorkovich’s family plays an active role in the chess life of the country. His mother Galina helps the RCF Seniors’ Commission to hold tournaments for recognized chess players and Evgeni Vasiukov’s handicap, while Mikhail Dvorkovich headed the children’s ProfChessClub, which brought together young talents from all over Russia.
In 2014, Arkady Dvorkovich transferred leadership of the Russian Chess Federation to businessman Andrei Filatov, but he still plays one of the key roles in the federation’s board of trustees and continues to attend large tournaments and help Russian players.
In May 2018, Arkady Dvorkovich announced that he was running for FIDE President. Although the election campaign was short, it was quite effective - thanks largely to energetic, respected, and competent members of A. Dvorkovich's team.
The General Assembly of the 89th FIDE Congress began its work in Batumi, Georgia, on October 3. The key point of the first working day’s agenda was FIDE Presidential election. Initially, there were three candidates for the position: Georgios Makropoulos (Greece), Nigel Short (England), and Arkady Dvorkovich (Russia). During his speech, Nigel Short withdrew his candidature and endorsed Arkady Dvorkovich.
According to the FIDE Statute, a new President is elected for 4 years by a direct secret ballot procedure. Each country affiliated to FIDE has only one vote; a candidate has to get more than 50% of votes to win in the first round. As a result, Georgios Makropoulos got 78 votes, 103 delegates voted in favour of Arkady Dvorkovich, while one ballot was declared invalid. Thus, Arkady Dvorkovich has become a new, seventh FIDE President.
On 7 August 2022, Arkady Dvorkovich was reelected as FIDE President at the FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, India. The Assembly brought together 179 delegates, and 157 of the voted in his favour. Thus, Arkady Dvorkovich got a record-breaking level of support. Together with him, the former World Champion Viswanathan Anand (India) was elected as FIDE Vice-President.
