1. Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin, Russia's President tops the list.
In December 1999, Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of Russia and appointed Putin acting president until official elections were held (in early 2000).
Putin was re-elected to the presidency in 2004. In April 2005, he made a historic visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon—marking the first visit to Israel by any Kremlin leader.
Due to ceiling on terms, Putin could not run for the presidency again in 2008. (That same year, presidential terms in Russia were extended from four to six years.)
When his protégé Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as president in March 2008, Putin secured the post of Russia's prime minister, continuing his position among the top Russian leadership after eight years at the helm.
On March 4, 2012, Vladimir Putin was re-elected to the presidency, and he was inaugurated to his third term as Russia's president on May 7, 2012.
He was married to Lyudmila in 1983. The couple had two daughters - Maria, born in 1985, and Yekaterina, born in 1986. But the couple parted ways last year. Their divorce was out of mutual agreement as his wife felt that Putin was a busy man and had no time for her.
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