Andrei Polyakov

Andrei Vladimirovich Polyakov (; 14 October 1950 – 3 March 2021) was a Soviet and Russian diplomat. He served in various diplomatic roles from 1973 onwards, and served as Ambassador of Russia to Tunisia and to Rwanda.

Career Polyakov was born on 14 October 1950 in Moscow, then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. He studied at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating in 1973, and entered diplomatic service. He undertook further studies later in his career at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, graduating in 1987 as a Candidate of Historical Sciences. He presented his credentials on 29 June 2006, and remained ambassador until 14 January 2011. During this time he was promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary First Class on 11 March 2009. On 22 May 2013 Polyakov was appointed ambassador of Russia to Rwanda, a post he held until his retirement on 31 October 2017. He had been promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary towards the end of the assignment, on 10 February 2016. His obituary by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described him as "an experienced and highly professional diplomat who made a great contribution to the development of bilateral relations, the implementation of the course pursued by Russia to strengthen diverse ties with the countries of the Middle East and Africa, a reliable comrade and mentor."