Putin names his choice for PM
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Fradkov served as minister of trade under Boris Yeltsin.
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In a surprise move, Russian President Vladimir Putin is nominating his EU envoy for the newly vacant position of prime minister. CNN's Jill Dougherty reports (March 1)
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Mikhail Fradkov
Held a variety of jobs in the economic sphere during the 1970s
Represented Russia at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1990
From 1997 to 1998, he served as Russia's minister of external economics and trade
In 2000 he was named first deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council
In 2001 he was put in charge of the Federal Tax Service Police -- a body that was disbanded on presidential orders
Named Russia's representative to the EU in March 2003
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has named European Union envoy Mikhail Fradkov as his candidate for prime minister, Interfax news agency says.
Fradkov, 53, was formerly head of the now defunct tax police. He served as minister of external economic relations as well as minister of trade under Russia's first post-Soviet president, Boris Yeltsin.
Monday's surprise announcement -- Fradkov's name was not mentioned at all in the past five days of speculation -- came shortly after the president met key allies from parliament in the Kremlin.
Putin sacked the government of Mikhail Kasyanov on February 24 in a move that observers said demonstrated his political confidence ahead of the March 14 presidential election, in which he looks certain to win a second term in the Kremlin.
Kasyanov had been prime minister since 2000 and was the last survivor of former president Boris Yeltsin's government to remain in power.
Although the constitution rules that the prime minister and his Cabinet formally step down at a presidential election anyway, the timing of Putin's move took many by surprise.
Some analysts said the sacking was timed to increase public interest in the presidential campaign in order to raise turnout for the vote.
Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying the selection of a new prime minister had not been an easy one.
"It had to be a highly professional person, organized, having strong work experience in varied branches of state activity," he said.
The Russian Duma, by law, has one week to approve the choice for prime minister. Analysts expect the president will have no difficulty having his nominee approved since the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party controls 300 out of 450 seats in the lower house of parliament.
Russia's Interfax News agency reports that the Duma will vote March 5 on Fradkov's nomination.
Moscow (CNN) -- Ending nearly a week of silence over his pick for a new prime minister, Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen Mikhail Fradkov, the country's representative to the European Union. The president announced his decision Monday at a meeting with the main parliamentary groups of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament.
Fradkov, former head of the Russian Tax Service Police, is expected to replace Mikhail Kasyanov, whom Putin fired last Tuesday.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
