A civil servant who held various positions in the Leningrad Oblast under the Soviet regime, he later served as advisor to Cabinet Ministers. Zubkov was a financial crime investigator until he was nominated on 12 September 2007 by President Vladimir Putin to replace Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who had resigned earlier that day. The nomination was approved in the Duma on 14 September 2007. On 7 May 2008 Zubkov's cabinet was automatically dismissed. This procedure, following an inauguration of the President of Russia is required by the Russian Constitution. After Putin became Prime Minister, Zubkov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.