Sergey Ivanov
Medvedev was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister on 14 November 2005. Formerly Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, he was also the Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, a post he had held, for the second time, since 2000. On 10 December 2007, he was informally endorsed as a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections by the largest Russian political party, United Russia, and officially endorsed on 17 December 2007. Medvedev's candidacy was supported by former President Vladimir Putin and pro-presidential parties. As technocrat and political appointee, Medvedev - Putin's former Chief of Staff and one-time rival to Sergey Ivanov - had never held elective office before 2009. Medvedev chose Putin as his Prime Minister; in 2012, Putin ran for the Presidency, won, and appointed Medvedev as Prime Minister.