Merab Ilyich Chigoev is a South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

n politician and former Prime Minister

Prime Minister of South Ossetia

The Prime Minister of South Ossetia is the head of government of the Republic of South Ossetia.-List of Prime Ministers of the Republic of South Ossetia :-Sources: * Osinform:...

, from August 1998 until June 2001. He was also Minister of Justice in Yury Morozov

Yury Morozov

Yury Ionovich Morozov is a Russian businessman and politician, and a former Prime Minister of South Ossetia. Morozov was confirmed by the Parliament of South Ossetia on 5 July 2005. 23 Out of 24 MPs present voted in favour of his candidacy. On 18 August 2008, it was announced that Morozov and his...

's cabinet.

Chigoev graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1973.

In the 2009 parliamentary election

South Ossetian parliamentary election, 2009

A parliamentary election in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia recognised as an independent state by Russia and Nicaragua, was held in June 2009. According to the preliminary results, the highest number of votes went to the ruling Unity Party...

, Chigoev was a candidate for the Communist Party of South Ossetia

Communist Party of South Ossetia

The Communist Party of South Ossetia is a communist political party in South Ossetia, a partially recognized Caucasian republic, considered by most countries to be a part of Georgia. The party was founded in 1993. As of 2004, the party claimed a membership of 1500...

. Chigoev was number 8 on the list, and as the party received enough votes for 8 seats, Chigoev was entitled to a seat in the Parliament of South Ossetia

Parliament of South Ossetia

The Parliament of South Ossetia is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. Members are elected using a system of Party-list proportional representation. South Ossetia has a multi-party system, and currently 3 political parties are represented in parliament....

.

Cabinet

Office	Incumbent
Prime Minister Prime Minister of South Ossetia The Prime Minister of South Ossetia is the head of government of the Republic of South Ossetia.-List of Prime Ministers of the Republic of South Ossetia :-Sources: * Osinform:...	Merab Ilyich Chigoev
First Deputy Prime Minister	Leonid Tibilov
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance	Evelina Gagloyeva
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Emergencies	Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev Dmitry Sanakoyev Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev is a South Ossetian and Georgian politician, a former official in the secessionist government of South Ossetia and currently Head of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia, a rival entity established in 2007 in the Georgian-controlled territories of this...
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Murat Kuzmich Dzhioev
Minister of Internal Affairs	Alan Guchmazov

Source: http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/yilmaz/kafkasya/southoset.html