Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed on Thursday Viktor Ivanov, a former presidential aide and FSB officer, as head of the federal drug control service, the Kremlin said.

Since 1997 Ivanov, 58, has held various posts in the Federal Security Service, and was appointed its deputy chief in 1999. In March 2004 he became an aide to the then-president Vladimir Putin. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he served in the KGB.

Viktor Cherkesov, who earlier headed the Federal Drug Control Service, has been appointed as head of the federal agency on supplies of armaments and military hardware and equipment.