Yakovlev is an ethnic
Ingrian Finn according to his mother's bloodline. He is a candidate of technical sciences, a doctor of economics, a professor of the department of urban economy at
Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University, an honorary doctor of
St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance, and an academician of the International Academy of Engineering. During 1996–2003, he was the Governor of
Saint Petersburg. During 2003–2004, prior to the
Beslan school hostage crisis, he was Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the
Southern Federal District. From 13 September 2004 until 24 September 2007, he was Russia's Minister for Regional Development in
Mikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet. 28 April 2009 Yakovlev was elected as the president of the Russian Union of Builders and still holds this position as in July 2024. ==See also==