MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was re-elected chairman of the board of directors of state-controlled energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] at an annual shareholders meeting Friday.
The shareholders re-approved the other members of the board of directors, including Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, and the president's envoy for international energy contacts Igor Yusufov, as well as CEO Alexei Miller.
Medvedev and the other first deputy premier, Sergei Ivanov, both President Vladimir Putin's close associates, are viewed as possible front-running presidential hopefuls in next year's elections.
Both have received a lot of publicity recently, overseeing multi-billion-dollar projects to improve living standards in the country, and promote the hi-tech sector aimed at cutting dependence on mineral resources, Russia's key export commodity.
