On Thursday, the Russian parliament unanimously approved the appointment of Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister of the country. The head of the federal tax authorities was nominated a day earlier by President Vladimir Putin.
383 out of 424 parliamentarians voted for Putin’s candidate. The remaining 41 parliamentarians were absent and therefore did not vote. Shortly after the vote, Putin made the appointment official by signing the required documents.
Mishustin will consider the composition of the new government in the coming days. Russia has had an interim government since Wednesday. Mishustin’s predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev, then announced that he would resign and dissolve the government to enable Putin’s proposed constitutional changes.
Now it is the case in Russia that the prime minister and cabinet members are appointed by the president. Putin wants to transfer this task to the parliament after a referendum, so that the “role and importance” of the parliament are strengthened. He also says that the change is good for the independence and responsibility of future prime ministers.
Medvedev will have a high position in the safety council
That Medvedev would not return soon became clear on Wednesday. The politician becomes the second man of the Russian National Security Council, of which Putin is currently chairman.
Medvedev was President of Russia from 2008 to 2012, between Putin’s second and third tenure. Russian law stipulates that a president may not stand for re-election after two consecutive terms. After Putin was elected for the third time, Medvedev became Prime Minister.
Although Medvedev’s successor was the boss of the tax authorities for ten years, little is known about him. The 53-year-old economist started his career in the 1990s as a civil servant and worked his way up to the top of the tax authorities in the following years.
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