Politics

12:41, 21.10.2008 | Amur Region

Oleg Kozhemyako was sworn in as governor of the Amur region on Monday, an official in the press service of the Legislative Assembly of the region told Itar-Tass.

The governor regards as one of his main tasks “restoring people’s confidence in the authorities.” He stated this at a briefing after the inauguration ceremony. Kozhemyako has said there are “many problems” in the Amur area.

The extraordinary session of the Legislative Assembly of the Amur region vested Kozhemyako with governor’s powers on Monday as a result of a secret ballot voting of 22 to 9 in his favour. Thirty-one deputies of the 36 participated in the session. The candidate had to earn at least 19 votes to receive the post.

Past Thursday Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the decree “On early termination of powers of Amur region governor,” accepting the resignation of Nikolai Kolesov and appointing 36-year old Kozhemyako as acting head of the region “until the coming into office of a person vested in gubernatorial powers.” On the same day Kozhemyako’s candidature was suggested to the regional parliament.

Oleg Safonov, the presidential envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District, presented Oleg Kozhemyako to the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

The candidate to governor’s post took part on Sunday in the meetings of all committees, answered questions of regional deputies and met with party factions in the Legislative Assembly. United Russia’s faction of 25 deputies declared in the candidate’s support and this decided the voting in Kozhemyako’s favour.

In 2005-2007 Oleg Kozhemyako was governor of the Koryak Autonomous Area and held that post until the merger of the Kamchatka region and the Koryak area into one entity of the Russian Federation in 2007. He worked until recently as deputy chief of the Russian president’s administration.

Itar-Tass