Ukraine's parliament approved Anatoly Kinakh, a business lobbyist and ally of President Leonid Kuchma, as prime minister on Tuesday, allowing a government to be formed after a month of political uncertainty.
A total of 239 members of the 450-seat parliament voted in favor of Kinakh, who will replace reformist Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, dismissed in a Communist-sponsored no-confidence vote last month.
Kinakh, the 46-year-old head of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, has pledged to press ahead with market reforms in the former Soviet state.
The vote came after the Communists, parliament's single largest party with 112 seats, announced they would abstain in the vote because Kinakh had not agreed to back their policies.
After the vote, Kinakh told the chamber he was aware of the challenges ahead of him.
"The great trust which Ukraine's parliament and president have placed in me cannot be separated from the great responsibility of leading the government for the good of the country, for carrying out effective reforms and for constructive cooperation between the branches of government," he said.
He said his priorities as prime minister would be tax reform and support of industry, including what he called the support and protection of domestic producers.
The vote came a month after Yushchenko was ousted as premier, a move widely seen as undermining economic reforms in the former Soviet state -- KIEV (Reuters)
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