Valerian Shuvaev

Shuvaev was born on 16 March 1955 in Barnaul, in what was then the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. He graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1977, and was assigned to the Soviet embassy in Lebanon.^[1] He worked there between 1977 and 1981, and again between 1986 and 1991. From 1992 until 1995, he was a department head in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's Middle East and North Africa Department, and then minister-counselor at the Russian embassy in Morocco from 1995 until 1998. He once again returned to Russia to serve as a department head and deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's Middle East and North Africa Department until 2004.^[2]

Shuvaev was the Russian ambassador to Libya between 2004 and 2008, and then ambassador to Iraq between 2008 and 2012. This was followed with another posting in the central apparatus of the ministry, again as a department head and deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Department until 2018.^[2] That year he was appointed ambassador to Morocco until 2022, and then ambassador to Algeria in May 2022. He was serving as such when he died in Algiers on 3 July 2024, at the age of 69.^[1][3][4]

Shuvaev had the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and had been awarded the Order of Courage. He had received an official letter of thanks from the President of Russia, and had the title of Honorary Worker of the Russian Foreign Ministry [ru].^[1] He was married, with two children.^[2] In addition to his native Russian, he also spoke French and Arabic.^[2]