Aleksandr Semernyov was born on 7 November 1958 in the village of Kletnya, Bryansk Oblast.

[1] He graduated from the Bryansk Agricultural Institute [ru], and the Higher Komsomol School.

On 19 June 1996, by decree of the President of the Russia, Boris Yeltsin, Semernyov was appointed the 5th Governor (head) of Bryansk Oblast.

In the gubernatorial elections in December 1996, he lost the gubernatorial elections to the communist Yury Lodkin, the former head of the regional administration, who was removed in 1993 after the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of Russia.

In December 2004, he again ran for the position of governor of Bryansk Oblast, but placed fifth, receiving 4.87% of the vote.