Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally appointed Viktor Zubkov as the new prime minister after the parliament approved his nomination on Friday.
Putin signed a decree Friday appointing Zubkov, until now chief of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, as the new prime minister, the Kremlin press service said.
Putin nominated Zubkov as candidate for the post Wednesday hours after he dissolved the government at the request of former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
The 450-seat State Duma, lower house of parliament, voted by 381 to 47 to confirm the nomination of Zubkov, who pledged to stick to Putin's economic policies, strengthen the defense industry and gain more from oil and gas sectors.
Zubkov, a long associate of President Putin, did not rule out the possibility of running for the presidential post when Putin is expected to step down after the general election next March.
Russia's two acting first deputy prime ministers, Sergei Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev, had been widely seen as leading contenders in the presidential race.
Zubkov was born on Sept. 15, 1941 in the village of Arbat, the Sverdlovsk Region.
Source: Xinhua
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