Hermann Graf, better known as Herman Gref, is a Russian politician and businessman.
27 Facts About Herman Gref
2.
Herman Gref was the Minister of Economics and Trade of Russia from May 2000 to September 2007.
3.
Herman Gref has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.
4.
Herman Gref is the CEO and chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, the largest Russian bank.
5.
Herman Gref was born in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic into a family of German deportees who were exiled there in 1941.
6.
Later Gref was involved in the return of exiled Germans to Russia - with his assistance an entire German village called Strelna was built near St Petersburg.
7.
Herman Gref graduated in 1993 under the guidance of Anatoly Sobchak.
8.
From 1992 to 1998 Herman Gref worked on several positions at the Saint Petersburg City Administration, notably a term as vice-governor from 1997 to 1998.
9.
Herman Gref became a friend and ally of Vladimir Putin during this period; he made acquaintance with Alexei Kudrin, Dmitry Kozak, and Dmitry Medvedev.
10.
Herman Gref was appointed to the board of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market of the Russian Federation and the board of state-owned Svyazinvest and Gazprom in 1999.
11.
Herman Gref was first appointed as Minister of the newly formed Ministry of Economic Development and Trade on May 18,2000 and was reappointed to the position in the succeeding Cabinet in 2004.
12.
Herman Gref was a major advocate of Russia's joining the World Trade Organization.
13.
Herman Gref is responsible for 2004 creation of the Stabilization Fund of the Russian Federation.
14.
Herman Gref was considered as one of the liberal reformers in Vladimir Putin's administration of the early and mid-2000s, besides Alexei Kudrin.
15.
Herman Gref has repeatedly spoken out against the monopolization of the oil and gas sector of the economy.
16.
Herman Gref resigned in a furore as minister in September 2007 along with Mikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet.
17.
In November 2007 Herman Gref was elected as president of the state-owned savings bank Sberbank at an extraordinary general meeting.
18.
In 2010, speaking at the Davos Economic Forum, Herman Gref spoke in favor of reducing the state's stake in the capital of Russian banks; in particular, he proposed reducing the state stake in Sberbank from 57.6 percent to 50 percent plus one share.
19.
In January 2018, Herman Gref was added to the US Treasury's "Kremlin list", a list of 210 officials, politicians and businessmen believed to be close to Vladimir Putin.
20.
Herman Gref was later subjected to full US Treasury sanctions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
21.
Herman Gref will be president and chairman of the bank until 2023.
22.
In February 2019, Herman Gref called upon Russians "to prepare for the very worst of situations" after the US adopted new sanctions against Russia.
23.
Herman Gref is said to have warned of serious economic impacts, but if he was attempting to dissuade Putin from proceeding with further escalation, this failed after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began a month later.
24.
Herman Gref married the designer Yana on May 1,2004 in the throne room of Peterhof Palace.
25.
Herman Gref's wife has a teenage son from a prior relationship, just as Gref has a son, Oleg, from his marriage with Yelena, who refused to move to Moscow when Gref was called into the government in 1998.
26.
Herman Gref speaks German and is an admirer of Goethe and German Expressionism.
27.
Herman Gref gave more than $50 million held in the trust to a 24-year old nephew who lived outside of Russia, but remained in control of the assets through the offshore companies.