Alexander Khloponin was born on March 6, 1965, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to the family of a translator working for the Soviet trade mission.
In 1982, he was accepted to the International Economics Faculty of the Moscow Financial Institute. He graduated in 1989.
From 1983 to 1985, he served in the mechanised infantry division of the Soviet Army. He currently holds the rank of Colonel.
From 1989 to 1992, he was the leading specialist at the USSR's Vnesheconombank, where he headed the Government Loans Department.
Beginning in 1992, he served as deputy and first deputy chairman of the board of the bank International Financial Company. He was appointed the bank's chairman in 1994, and its president in 1996.
On June 28, 1996, the board of directors of Norilsk Nikel appointed Mr Khloponin President and CEO.
On January 28, 2001, he was elected Governor of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Area.
In 2002, Mr Khloponin was elected Governor of Krasnoyarsk Territory, and formally took office on October 17, 2002.
In 2004, he was among those who advocated the merger of Krasnoyarsk Territory with the Evenki and Taimyr Autonomous Areas. On April 17, 2005, the majority of the population in Krasnoyarsk Territory itself as well as the autonomous areas voted in favour of this merger in a referendum.
On June 4, 2007, at the recommendation of President Putin, the members of Krasnoyarsk Territory's legislative assembly confirmed Mr Khloponin in the role of Governor of the Territory for a second term.
Mr Khloponin is a member of the Presidential Council on the implementation of the national priority projects and demographic policy, the Presidential Council on developing local self-government, the Government Commission on the assessment of the performance of the federal and regional state agencies, the State Council working group on infrastructure development in aviation, and the Russian Commission for UNESCO.
He was awarded with the Order of Honour in 1998 and the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, fourth class, in 2008.
He is married and has a daughter (born 1987).