Georgian parliament endorses new Cabinet
TBILISI. July 4 (Interfax) - The Georgian parliament endorsed a new Cabinet and a new government action program at an extraordinary session on Wednesday.
As many as 102 members of parliament voted to express confidence in the new government led by Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili, while nine voted against it.
The parliament had to endorse the new Cabinet after the president decided to appoint former Interior Minister Merabishvili prime minister instead of Nika Gilauri.
Bacho Akhalaya, who earlier served as defense minister, has been appointed foreign minister. Dmitry Shashkin, a former education and science minister, has been appointed to head the Defense Ministry. Khatia Dekanoidze, who served until recently as the head of the National Test Center and had earlier headed the Interior Ministry Academy, has become education and science minister.
Former Minister for Refugees and Accommodation Koba Subeliani has been replaced by Dali Khomeriki, who earlier worked as the culture and education minister in the Tbilisi-based Abkhaz Autonomous Republic government in exile.
Businessman Paata Trapaidze, who earlier headed the construction company Caucasus Road Project, has been appointed to the newly instituted position as state minister for employment.
The other 11 ministers and three state ministers have retained their jobs in the government.
The parliamentary opposition did not support the renewed Cabinet composition and its action program, considering that the changes and reshuffles were purely nominal, as virtually no new people joined the government and it cannot resolve problems facing the country.