Justice Minister Named Romania Interim PM

Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu has been named the country's interim Prime Minister by President Traian Basescu, after Emil Boc resigned earlier on Monday.

Predoiu, 43, is a lawyer and a former member of the oppositional National Liberal Party. He became Minister of Justice of Romania on February 29 2008 and his term was extended by the new Emil Boc cabinet formed in December 2008.

He was the only independent minister in the first Boc Cabinet and one of the three independent ministers in the second one.

Earlier on Monday, Romania's Prime Minister Emil Boc has resigned after weeks of protests in the Balkan country against the government's austerity measures.

Boc gave up his government's mandate, explaining that "it is the moment for important political decisions."

The Prime Minister had imposed a 25% cut in public sector wages and a freeze on pensions.

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, head of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service, is tipped to replace Emil Boc as PM, the Romanian Adevarul has reported.

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