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Putin surprises with prime minister pick

President Vladimir Putin followed one surprise with another yesterday by nominating Mikhail Fradkov, a little known former trade minister and tax police chief who is Russia's representative to the EU, to the post of prime minister.

Putin nominated Fradkov -- an unexpected choice who had not been among likely candidates mentioned by analysts -- during a meeting with leading lawmakers from the dominant pro-Kremlin party, United Russia.

"We faced a task that was not simple," Putin said in televised comments from the Kremlin meeting, adding that the nominee had to be a "highly professional, orderly person with good experience in various branches of state activity."

"I am very pleased that our opinions coincided," Putin said.

Fradkov, 53, served as a foreign trade official during the Soviet era and as Russia's trade minister twice in the 1990s, was named as the country's representative to the EU last March. He was appointed to head the tax police in March 2001, but the agency was later disbanded.

The nomination came six days after Putin surprised the nation by dismissing longtime Cabinet chief Mikhail Kasyanov less than a month before Russia's presidential election, which the incumbent is expected to win easily.

Putin's nominee is subject to approval by the Duma, but the legislature's support is not in doubt because United Russia holds more than 300 seats in the 450-member chamber. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said lawmakers would consider the nomination Friday.

Putin had been widely expected to fire Kasyanov after the March 14 presidential election, which he is virtually certain to win. Some analysts said the ouster was timed to increase public interest in the presidential campaign in order to raise turnout for the vote.
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