Yevgeny Savchenko was born on April 8, 1950 in the village of Krasnaya Yaruga, the Belgorod Region. In 1976, he graduated from the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. He started working as a collective farm's head agriculturist, and then worked in executive positions for the region's agro-industrial complex.
In the second half of the 1980s, he became engaged in politics and was elected deputy chairman of the regional executive committee. Later, he worked as deputy head of the Main Crop Science Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and in the country's agro-industrial complex.
In October 1993, he was appointed Governor of the Belgorod Region, then elected and re-elected as Governor in December 1995, May 1999, and May 2003. On June 16, 2007, at President Vladimir Putin's suggestion, Mr Savchenko was again appointed head of regional administration.
Mr Savchenko headed the Federal Assembly's Agrarian Policy Committee for five years.
Mr Savchenko holds the title of Professor and a doctoral degree in economics. He is a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Holds several state orders: the Badge of Honour, the Order for Services to the Fatherland, 4th and 3rd Class, Ukrainian Order for Services, 3rd Class, the Ushinsky Medal, and several decorations of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Yevgeny Savchenko is one of the governors named Person of the Year by the Russian Biographical Institute, holding the Stolypin National Prize "Russia's Agrarian Elite."