President of Belarus
Natalia Petkevich was born in Minsk. In 1994, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Belarusian State University. In 1998, she earned the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science. Joining the Administration of the President of Belarus, she came to serve as Chief for the Administration of State and International Law of the Administration of the President of Belarus. In 2001, she was appointed Press Secretary of the President of Belarus. Then, in 2004, she was appointed Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus. Natalia Petkevich has been called the "Iron Lady" of Belarus, and has been considered a potential successor to President Alexander Lukashenko. On 10 April 2006, following the 2006 presidential election in Belarus, she was placed on a list of over 40 members of the Belarusian government banned from entering the European Union and the United States for allegedly participating in the manipulation of the results of the presidential election; the ban was temporarily lifted in 2008. In 2009, she was appointed First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus.