Belarusian president appoints Aleksandr Turchin as new prime minister

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Aleksandr Turchin as the country’s new prime minister, state media reported on Monday.

The prime minister was appointed with the prior consent of the House of Representatives, the country’s lower house of parliament, according to state news agency Belta.

Turchin, 49, had been serving as the head of the Minsk Region since December 2019. Previously, he took office in August 2018 as Belarus’ first deputy prime minister.

Lukashenko also announced the appointment of Roman Golovchenko, Turchin’s predecessor, as the head of Belarus’ National Bank, according to the news agency.

“He (Golovchenko) is an experienced person. This is a very important appointment. I believe that he and Aleksandr Genrikhovich (Turchin) will find a common language and will finally turn some issues of our economy related to its financing upside down,” Lukashenko said.

Golovchenko took office as Belarusian prime minister in June 2020.