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Russian Parliament Approves Mikhail Mishustin as New PM


Thu 16 Jan 2020 | 03:42 PM
Yara Sameh

Russian lawmakers approved the appointment of the chairman of the Russian Tax Authority, Mikhail Mishustin as the new prime minister on Thursday.

The State Duma— Russia's lower house of parliament— voted in favor of Mishustin, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nomination for a new prime minister.

He received 383 votes out of the 424 casts, which included 41 abstentions.

Mishustin taking post follows after a series of bombshell announcements, which included constitutional changes and the government's resignation.

Mishustin replaces Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin associate, who was Russia's prime minister for eight years.

The newly appointed PM's nomination as prime minister, who has been leading Russia's federal tax authority since 2010, came as a surprise.

Under Medvedev, the constitution was amended to extend the presidential term from four years to six, although it limits the leader to two consecutive terms. The new prime minister stated that an announcement will be made in the coming days about the composition of his Cabinet.

It is worth mentioning that Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin is a Russian economist and politician. He served as the head of the Federal Tax Service from 2010 to 2020.

Putin had nominated him for the post of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, on January 15.

The hearings on his appointment were held in the State Duma on 16 January, in which his appointment was quickly and unanimously ratified.