President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday tapped former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to be the new premier, set to take office after the inauguration on May 20.
Lai made the announcement at a news conference in Taipei, at which he unveiled the slogan “an active and innovative Cabinet,” or “AI” Cabinet.
Cho served as Cabinet secretary-general from 2017 to 2018 under Lai as premier.
Photo: CNA
He was also elected chair of the Democratic Progressive Party following its defeat in the 2018 local elections.
During his tenure from 2019 to 2020, Cho played a key role in navigating a contentious primary race between Lai and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Cho is known as being a relatively soft-spoken negotiator, with more than three decades of experience in government as a city councilor, legislator, presidential secretary-general and Cabinet member.
More recently, Cho was a member of a “study group” convened by Lai that helped formulate the candidate’s national infrastructure platform, and served as a key member of Lai’s presidential campaign, organizing overseas support organizations.
At the event, Lai also named former minister of culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) as vice premier, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) as secretary-general and former Taichung city councilor Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) as spokesman.
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