Ivanov was born in 1945 in Moscow to a Russian father and a Georgian mother (Elena Sagirashvili).

Ivanov played a key role in mediating a deal between Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and opposition parties during Georgia's "Rose Revolution" in 2003.

Ivanov was succeeded by Sergey Lavrov as foreign minister in 2004, and appointed by President Vladimir Putin to the post of Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

In 2011, Ivanov became a member of the Advisory Council of The Hague Institute for Global Justice, and in 2014 worked for The Moscow Times.

[4] In recent years, he appears to be staying out of the limelight and not getting involved in politics and public activities proactively.