Yevgeny Primakov

Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (born October 29, 1929) is a former prime minister of Russia. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was an important official in the KGB. After the formation of the Russian Federation, he became a close associate of President Boris Yeltsin and during the late 1990s was one of the highest-ranking members of the government, serving as foreign minister from 1996 until 1998 and as prime minister from 1998 until he was fired in May 1999.

In March 2003 he visited Iraq and talked with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hoping to help prevent the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a move which received some support from several nations opposed to the war.

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