Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday named Mikhail Fradkov, Russia's envoy to the European Union, as the prime minister candidate.

The unexpected nominee, who has not been placed in earlier potential candidate list by analysts, was one more surprise to the nation after Putin on Feb. 24 dismissed the government led by Mikhail Kasyanov, almost three weeks before the March 14 presidential election that will see Putin's undisputed landslide victory.

Putin announced the premier nomination at a Monday meeting with deputies of the pro-Putin United Russia party that holds a two-third majority in the State Duma, or lower house of the parliament. The appointment of Fradkov is subject to parliament approval.

The state leader, who has been widely expected to win his re-election in the upcoming poll, said that his proposal on the premier candidate coincided with the opinion of parliamentary majority.

"We face the difficult task of putting forward a candidate for the post of the government chairman to the country," Putin was quoted by Interfax News Agency as saying.

"It should be a highly professional and decent person with ample experience in different spheres of public life," said Putin.

Putin will later Monday send the nomination to the Duma, which is expected to consider the proposal on March 5, according to Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov.

The speaker confirmed that the parliament majority would support Fradkov as prime minister.

Fradkov, 54, has longtime working experiences in foreign economic affairs. He was appointed trade minister in 1999 and became first deputy secretary of the Security Council a year later. He served as head of the Federal Tax Police Service in 2001 and was appointed as Russia's envoy to the European Union in last March.

Putin noted that Fradkov will return to Moscow from Brussels on Tuesday, but the time of his arrival in Moscow depends on the schedule of flights.

Earlier media reports indicated that Fradkov has returned from Brussels and is currently in the Kremlin.

Putin commented that Fradkov is quite familiar with economic affairs and the law enforcement sector due to his career background and thus he has gained thorough experience in fighting corruption.

Putin, who has been pushing forward an anti-corruption campaign, had claimed that the ongoing legal investigation into Russia's oil giant Yukos was a part of the move instead of a so-called politically motivated onslaught against the firm, whose former head Mikhail Khodorkovsky has supported anti-Putin political forces.

Critics believe that Kasyanov's being fired from the post of prime minister was mainly due to his disobedience to the incumbent president over a number of economic issues, including the massive jurisdiction probe into Yukos.

Russian share prices fell after Putin unveiled his choice for prime minister.

Most blue chips on the Russian Trading Systems (RTS) increased 0.5 percent to 1.6 percent from Friday's close but they soon dropped after the candidate was announced.

A website source from the Nikoil Investment Bank Group said that the Russian stock market trading opened 2 percent higher than Friday, but the stock price fell 1 percent as soon as Putin revealed the premier nomination.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2004)