Parliament on Thursday approved Yuri Yekhanurov as Ukraine's new prime minister, pulling the country back from the brink of crisis after less than a year of liberal government.
The middle-of-the road Yekhanurov replaced Yulia Tymoshenko, who stood alongside President Viktor Yushchenko in last year's "Orange Revolution" protests, but was sacked as prime minister in September after months of infighting split the government.
Yekhanurov, a pragmatist and Yushchenko loyalist, was the president's candidate to take over as prime minister.
Tymoshenko's dismissal and allegations from both sides about the rampant corruption Yushchenko had vowed to stop had pitched the ex-Soviet state into turmoil and generated mass disillusion ahead of a parliamentary election next March.
Yekhanurov was backed by 289 of 450 members, well above the required 226. On Tuesday, he fell three votes short.
The president secured endorsement for his candidate on the second attempt after clinching a deal with the man he defeated last year to take power, ex-prime minister Viktor Yanukovich.
"We must bury the hatchet, bury it a long way from here and, if possible, forget the spot where it lies," Yushchenko said in a brief address before the vote, over in less than 15 minutes. He was jubilant afterwards.
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