Vladimir Putin is a Russian politician who has served as President of Russia for multiple terms since 1999 and remains a dominant figure in Russian politics.[3] He is a former KGB intelligence officer who studied law at Leningrad State University.[4] Putin's political career began in earnest in 1996 when he moved to Moscow and joined the Kremlin administration.[1] In 1998, President Boris Yeltsin appointed him director of the Federal Security Service, followed by his appointment as Prime Minister in 1999.[1] On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and named Putin acting president.[4] Putin won the March 2000 presidential election with approximately 53 percent of the vote and was re-elected in 2004 with 71.31 percent.[2][4] Due to constitutional term limits, Putin served as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012 under President Dmitry Medvedev, during which he chaired the United Russia Party.[1] He was re-elected to the presidency in March 2012 and has continued serving as president since then.[5] Domestically, Putin focused on economic stabilization and growth. During 2000-2014, Russia demonstrated stable economic expansion, with Putin's policies strengthening the industrial sector and developing the oil and gas industry, making Russia an energy superpower.[1] His economic reforms also contributed to reversing Russia's population decline, which had fallen by approximately one million people annually before 2010.[6] Internationally, Putin initially supported the United States' War on Terror following 9/11 but opposed the invasion of Iraq.[6] His tenure has been marked by controversial foreign policy decisions and domestic actions, including military campaigns and what international observers have characterized as authoritarian practices and suppression of dissent.[3] In 2007, Time magazine named Putin Person of the Year, and he featured on Forbes' most powerful persons list from 2013 to 2016.[2]