The Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo in Silver

Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov Awarded for:

His excellent contribution in recording the plight of the majority in southern African countries, including South Africa, during the period of minority rule. His work remains a testimony to the vast disparities during apartheid.

Profile of Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov

Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov was born in Moscow in 1929 and graduated from the Institute of International Relations in Moscow in 1953 and High Diplomatic School in 1962. He has held a variety of diplomatic posts for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Russia since 1954 in Hungary, Brazil among others, and was the USSR Ambassador to Costa Rica (1971-1975), Venezuela (1975-1980) and Angola (1987-1990).

His positions in the USSR Foreign Ministry, in addition to those held in the Department of Policy Planning (1966 – 1971), include Head of the Latin American Department (1980-1987) and Head of the Africa Department (1990 – 1992). During this period Kazimirov served the people of southern Africa and their fight for liberation with total commitment and conviction. As USSR Ambassador to Angola, he participated in the Joint Commission on South West Africa and the conflict resolution in Angola and Namibia. During this time he proved to be a friend of liberation movements.

From 1992 to 1996 he was designated Ambassador-at-Large and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict-resolution process and head of the Russian mediation mission. He participated in the conclusion of the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1994.

He represented Russia in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, becoming its co-chairperson in 1995. During the years of 1996-99 he was Russia’s Ambassador to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Retired from active service in 2000, he continues to perform special missions. He is president of Veterans of the Ministry of International Affairs of Russian Federation and Vice-President of the Russian Association of Diplomats. He has good command of languages, including Spanish, French and Hungarian.