On 4 March 1996, Yefremov was appointed head of the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region. In December 1996, he was elected head of the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast, defeating the former first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU, . From April 1996 to December 2001, he was a member of the Federation Council ex officio, was a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. On 17 December 2000, he was elected governor of the region for the second time, having won in the second round of elections over the former chairman of the regional government Nikolay Malakov.
