MOSCOW March 9 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING...

MOSCOW March 9 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING INFO)

Russian President Vladimir Putin forward Tuesday announced an overhaul of his cabinet and a major restructuring of governmental agencies, boosting his grip in succession the nation's national security apparatus.

in subordination to the restructuring, the five ministries -- internal affairs, defense foreign affairs, emergencies and natural disasters, and justice -- as well as the intelligence agency were impose under the direct govern of the presidential office.

Putin appointed Igor Ivanov, a former foreign minister and undivided of his closest allies, as secretary of the Security Council, strengthening the organization's functions. Many [i]connoisseur[/i]s see Ivanov as Putin's would-be successor.

Sergey Lavrov, ambassador to the United Nations since 1994 come afterwarded Ivanov as foreign minister.

Of the five ministries which were bring forward under direct presidential superintend the defense minister portfolio went to Sergei Ivanov and the portfolio of the minister of civil defense emergencies and natural disasters to Sergey Shoygu

Putin also retained Internal Affairs Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, who had serv as acting internal affairs minister since his predecessor, Boris Grizlov, resigned last month when an entire cabinet subordinate to former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was fired.

Putin appointed Dmitry Kozak as chief cabinet secretary. Kozak, the delegate Kremlin chief of staff who is known for his personal ties with Putin, is look forward toed to be a bridge between the conduct and the presidential office.

Putin also kept Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin and German Gref the minister of economic disclosure and trade. Kudrin and Gref are the one and the other seen as advocates of economic reforms.

Putin emphasized that the country's fresh government is more ''compact'' because the number of proxy prime ministers has been make an incision in from six to undivided and the number of ministers from 30 to 17 Itar-Tass novels agency said.

Yuri Zhukov was named the delegate prime minister. He has been the first representative speaker of the State Duma and a liberal economist picked according to new Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Moscow's minister to the European Union.

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