Georgia's parliament endorsed career diplomat Grigol Mgaloblishvili as prime minister on Saturday in a step billed by President Mikheil Saakashvili as the start of a reform drive. Saakashvili has promised democratic reforms in what analysts say is an attempt to offset domestic criticism over Georgia's crushing defeat by Russia in a five-day war in August.
Mgaloblishvili's cabinet bears only four ministerial changes to that of his predecessor, technocrat reformer Lado Gurgenidze. The 150-seat parliament, dominated by Saakashvili loyalists, voted 98-11 to elect 35-year-old Mgaloblishvili, an Oxford-educated diplomat who until this week was Georgia's ambassador to Turkey.
"Restoration of Georgia's territorial integrity and its economic recovery amid the global financial crisis are the two main challenges facing our government," Mgaloblishvili told parliament. Saakashvili proposed Mgaloblishvili on Monday, saying the government needed new energy to confront challenges after war with Russia and with the world facing financial crisis.
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