Macedonia's premier forms cabinet

Macedonia's conservative premier proposed a new cabinet Saturday, retaining nine ministers from the previous one. Parliament will vote on the new cabinet when it convenes July 26, Speaker Trajko Veljanovski said. Macedonia's premier forms cabinet Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party won June 1 elections and formed a coalition with the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, or DUI, as part of a pledge to include representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority in government. In the proposed Cabinet, Antonio Milososki remains foreign minister and Gordana Jankulovska keeps the interior ministry portfolio. Also staying on as a minister without a portfolio is U.S.-educated Vele Samak, a former marketing manager at Microsoft who would continue his job courting overseas investment. Zoran Konjanovski replaces Lazar Elenovski as defense minister, after Elenovski's small New Social Democratic party joined the opposition. The DUI — which won more parliament seats than Gruevski's last coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Albanians — heads five ministries: health, economy, local government, ecology, and labor and social policy. It also holds a deputy minister position, in charge of implementing a 2001 peace deal with ethnic Albanian rebels. Ethnic Albanians make up about a quarter of the 2.1 million population. Gruevski has pledged to tackle Macedonia's crippling 35 percent unemployment rate. He also said his government would resolve the dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name, which has stymied the country's bid for NATO membership. Greece argues Macedonia's name implies a territorial claim against its own region of Macedonia. Gruevski's coalition includes 63 legislators from his party in the 120-seat parliament, 18 from DUI and one from the small Party for European Initiative. The Democratic Party of Albanians said Friday its deputies would boycott parliament sessions until issues "important to ethnic Albanians" are included on the assembly's agenda, including pensions for ethnic Albanian rebels, recognition of Kosovo's independence and promulgation of Albanian as Macedonia's second official language.

Macedonia's premier forms cabinet

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party won June 1 elections and formed a coalition with the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, or DUI, as part of a pledge to include representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority in government.

In the proposed Cabinet, Antonio Milososki remains foreign minister and Gordana Jankulovska keeps the interior ministry portfolio.

Also staying on as a minister without a portfolio is U.S.-educated Vele Samak, a former marketing manager at Microsoft who would continue his job courting overseas investment.

Zoran Konjanovski replaces Lazar Elenovski as defense minister, after Elenovski's small New Social Democratic party joined the opposition.

The DUI — which won more parliament seats than Gruevski's last coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Albanians — heads five ministries: health, economy, local government, ecology, and labor and social policy. It also holds a deputy minister position, in charge of implementing a 2001 peace deal with ethnic Albanian rebels.

Ethnic Albanians make up about a quarter of the 2.1 million population.

Gruevski has pledged to tackle Macedonia's crippling 35 percent unemployment rate.

He also said his government would resolve the dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name, which has stymied the country's bid for NATO membership. Greece argues Macedonia's name implies a territorial claim against its own region of Macedonia.

Gruevski's coalition includes 63 legislators from his party in the 120-seat parliament, 18 from DUI and one from the small Party for European Initiative.

The Democratic Party of Albanians said Friday its deputies would boycott parliament sessions until issues "important to ethnic Albanians" are included on the assembly's agenda, including pensions for ethnic Albanian rebels, recognition of Kosovo's independence and promulgation of Albanian as Macedonia's second official language.