Ukraine has a new PM - Yuriy Yekhanurov
Last Updated: Thursday, September 22, 2005 | 6:54 AM ET
CBC News
Ukraine has a new prime minister -- Yuriy Yekhanurov, an economist and longstanding ally of the president -- was approved by the parliament Thursday.
Yekhanurov -- regarded as a moderate -- was President Viktor Yushchenko's choice to replace former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko was fired amid a string of scandals that shattered the team of Orange Revolution reformist leaders brought to power after a peaceful pro-Western revolution last year.
Earlier in the week, the first attempt to elect Yekhanurov as PM had been defeated. But Thursday's vote had the support of Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions. Yanukovych was the losing candidate in last year's bitter presidential election.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov in parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Sept. 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Vladimir Sindeev)
The president had appealed to Ukraine's diverse political forces to unite behind Yekhanurov, asking them to avoid any moves that would destabilize the country.
The 57-year-old Yekhanurov is seen as a cautious and pragmatic politician. Soon after his nomination as acting prime minister two weeks ago he said: "There will be no reprivatisation ... there will be talks, negotiations and I think there will be settlements."
Yekhanurov was born in Russia's Yakutia region and worked on construction projects in his early career.
Ukraine's previous prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko (Photo SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images)
He worked his way up through government ranks in Ukraine, holding the posts of economy minister, head of the privatisation agency and deputy prime minister.
He served as deputy prime minister when Yushchenko headed the government in 2000-2001 and ran the Dnipropetrovsk region after last year's Orange Revolution.
Yekhanurov has disagreed with former prime minister Tymoshenko on several issues, calling for clarity and consistency in privatisation and currency policy.
He was especially critical of her handling of an attempt to return to state control a privatised metals plant in Nikopol, where workers objected and confronted police.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Ottawa wins appeal to block RCMP union
- The Ontario Court of Appeal has rejected a 2009 lower court ruling that RCMP officers' Charter rights are violated by regulations forbidding a union. more »
- 2,000 jobs cut as GM to close Oshawa plant
- The Canadian Auto Workers union says General Motors is going ahead with plans to close its consolidated plant in Oshawa, Ont. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- New duty-free limits will challenge Canadian retailers
- Cross-border shoppers may welcome increased duty-free limits that kick in Friday, but those changes will magnify problems Canadian retailers are having with the noticeable price gaps between Canada and the U.S. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Gaza border clash kills Palestinian militant, Israeli soldier
- A Palestinian militant infiltrated into Israel and set off a shootout that left the infiltrator and one Israeli soldier dead, the military says. more »
- Mistrial declared in John Edwards case
- The campaign fraud trial of disgraced former U.S. senator John Edwards ended on Thursday with an acquittal on one of six counts and a mistrial declared on the remaining charges. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- How manhunts work
- A nation-wide manhunt, like the one being undertaken to find suspected killer Luka Rocco Magnotta, is a highly co-ordinated exercise that isn't quite as gritty or dramatic as it may seem in TV police shows. more »
Dispatches »
- Child "bomberitos" on Peru's most dangerous highway May. 31, 2012 3:34 PM The bomberito children of the Andes hitch homemade carts to passing transport trucks -- to aid motorists and victims of disasters in mountains that were once the domain of Peru's Shining Path rebels. They risk their lives for tips that help feed their families.
Connect Newsroom Blog
The Hunt for Magnotta and #bullyPROOF May. 31, 2012 7:32 PM Tonight we'll take you deep inside the dark recesses of the internet for a closer look what's being posted and who watching it.
- Body-parts victim ID'd as Chinese student in Montreal
- Edmonton teacher suspended for giving 0s
- Owner defends 'gore' site connected to Luka Magnotta
- New duty-free limits will challenge Canadian retailers
- Quebec student talks collapse and more protests loom
- Tree faller plunges to death as bucket breaks
- Bear pulls corpse from car near Kamloops
- 5 movie trailers that raise the bar
- Man shot to death in Clayton Park
