title: Governor of Ryazan Oblast
text: # Governor of Ryazan Oblast
  
  The governor of Ryazan Oblast (Russian: Губернатор Рязанской области) is the highest official of Ryazan Oblast, a federal subject of Russia. The governor heads the executive branch in the region.
  
  ## History of office
  
  The office of the Head of Administration of Ryazan Oblast was introduced on 25 September 1991 by the decree of the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin. Lev Poliyevktovich Bashmakov was appointed to the post, who already headed the region in 1988–90 as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
  
  In December 1996, the first gubernatorial elections were held in the region. Member of the Communist Party Vyacheslav Lyubimov was the winner. The legislative election that followed a few months later also resulted in Communists' success, and Ryazan Oblast became a "red" region for the next 10 years.
  
  In August 2002, amendments were made to the Charter of Ryazan Oblast: the post of "Head of Administration" was replaced by "Governor", who was also allowed to run for a third term. In 2012, the term of office was extended from four to five years.
  
  ## List of officeholders
  
  | No. | Governor | Party | Tenure | Election |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Lev Bashmakov (1938–2018) | Independent | 25 September 1991 – 25 January 1994 | none |
  | 2 | Gennady Merkulov (1940–2015) | Our Home – Russia | 25 January 1994 – 15 October 1996 | none |
  | Between 15 October 1996 and 6 January 1997 Igor Ivlev served as acting governor. |||||||
  | 3 | Vyacheslav Lyubimov (1947–) | CPRF | 6 January 1997 – 12 April 2004 | 1996 2000 |
  | 4 | Georgy Shpak (1943–) | Rodina | 12 April 2004 – 12 April 2008 | 2004 |
  | 5 | Oleg Kovalyov (1948–2020) | United Russia | 12 April 2008 – 10 July 2012 | 2008 |
  | Between 10 July 2012 and 19 October 2012 Oleg Kovalyov served as acting governor. |||||||
  | (5) | Oleg Kovalyov (1948–2020) | United Russia | 19 October 2012 – 14 February 2017 | 2012 |
  | Between 14 February 2017 and 18 September 2017 Nikolay Lyubimov served as acting governor. |||||||
  | 6 | Nikolay Lyubimov (b. 1971) | United Russia | 18 September 2017 – 10 May 2022 | 2017 |
  | Between 10 May 2022 and 22 September 2022 Pavel Malkov served as acting governor. |||||||
  | 7 | Pavel Malkov (b. 1980) | Independent | since 22 September 2022 | 2022 |
  