 Born in Ukraine, Matviyenko started her political career in the 1980s in Leningrad (now called Saint Petersburg), and was the First Secretary of the Krasnogvardeysky District Communist Party of the City from 1984 to 1986.In the 1990s, Matviyenko served as the Russian Ambassador to Malta (1991–1995), and to Greece (1997–1998).From 1998 to 2003, Matviyenko was Deputy Prime Minister for Welfare, and briefly the Presidential Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District in 2003.