Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (/ˈpuːtɪn/; Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин, romanized: Vladímir Vladímirovič Pútin; born 7 October 1952) is the President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008.Then he was re-elected in 2012 and is still in office as of today. He is seen as the most powerful man in the world. Putin was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR. He studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975 and became a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before resigning in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he served as director of the FSB, the KGB’s successor agency, and then as prime minister. He became Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. During his first couple years in office, Vladimir became close friends with former U.S. President George W. Bush.