Ukraine's parliament approved Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister
on Tuesday.
Yulia Tymoshenko was backed by 226 lawmakers in the 450-member
legislature, just the number required to be prime minister, the
parliament's counting commission said.
"I will uphold the ideals of the 2004 (Orange) Revolution which
pledged to move Ukraine closer to the West and eventually seek
membership of the European Union and NATO," Tymoshenko said after
the voting.
The Orange Revolution leader said her priorities would be to
clean up corruption that remains rampant in Ukraine 16 years after
its independence and to proceed with vital economic, judicial and
political reforms including a "clean" privatization program.
Tymoshenko, 47, was named prime minister by President Viktor
Yushchenko on Dec. 6, but failed in her bid for premiership on Nov.
11, backed by only 225 deputies. The president re-nominated her as
prime minister the following day.
Tymoshenko, with her trademark peasant braid and designer
outfits, stood firmly at Yushchenko's side during the 2004
protests. She became prime minister in February 2005 after
Yushechenko won a re-run presidential election, but was fired by
him seven months later.
The two reconciled this year during a standoff with outgoing
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who has pursued more
Moscow-friendly policies. A snap parliamentary election was held in
September to resolve months of political crisis in the country.
In September's polls, Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc garnered 156 seats
in the 450-seat chamber and formed a shaky majority coalition with
the pro-president Our Ukraine-Self Defense Bloc.
(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2007)
