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Yugoslavia's New Government Approved
Yugoslavia's parliament Saturday approved a new federal government headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zizic.
The new government is backed by Zizic's Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the Serb People's Party, both from coastal republic of Montenegro and the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) who backed newly-elected President Vojislav Kostunica.
The new Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus is an economic expert belonging to the think tank responsible for the DOS's economic program. He will also be in charge of foreign economic relations.
Of the 16-member new cabinet, eight others come from the cross-party alliance behind Kostunica.
Goran Svilanovic, a lawyer by training and leader of the Civic Alliance of Serbia that is part of the DOS, was nominated Foreign Minister. Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic was the mayor of Nis, Serbia's third largest city. And law professor Momcilo Grubac took the justice ministry portfolio.
Other Six posts went to Zizic's group. The heavy-weight SNP figures included Defense Minister Slobodan Krapovic, Economics Minister Danilo Vuksanovic and Finance Minister Dragisa Pesic.
Speaking at a joint session of parliament called to approve the new government, Zizic said he and his colleagues would work to return Yugoslavia to the international community with dignity and pursue fundamental economic reforms.
The issue of Kosovo must be settled according to UN Security Council resolution 1244, he said.
He said the government would also focus on relations between Serbia and Montenegro.
Zizic was nominated to head the government in accordance with a constitutional stipulation that if the president comes from Serbia, as Kostunica does, then the prime minister must be Montenegrin and vice versa.
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