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Does Vladimir Putin seek to perpetuate himself in power? 2:05
(CNN) - He may not even have had an English Wikipedia page on Wednesday morning, but former tax official Mikhail Mishustin is now Russian Prime Minister.
The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, confirmed Mishustin's new position on Thursday amid a major political shock.
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Prior to his appointment, Mishustin served as head of the Federal Tax Service, where he forged a reputation as a qualified technocrat who successfully reformed the country's tax system.
Mikhail Mishustin, a technocrat with a low public profile, is Russia's new prime minister.
Mishustin is largely unknown to the Russian public and had previously shown little political ambition.
He told the Russian Parliament that the country must preserve macroeconomic stability, maintain inflation at around 4% and accelerate work on the development program of "national projects" flagship of President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported Thursday.
Mishustin's appointment comes after former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, along with the entire Russian government, resigned on Wednesday to clear the way for reforms that could extend Putin's control over power after his presidential term ends in 2024
Putin has proposed constitutional amendments that would effectively strengthen the powers of the Prime Minister and Parliament at the expense of the Presidency, weakening his successor in the process, but the exact machinations behind the plan remain unclear.
Putin chose Mishustin for the post of prime minister on Wednesday night, and the new designee is known for his innovative work to bring tax collection to the digital economy.
Born in 1966, the new prime minister studied Systems Engineering and then received two doctorates in Economics.
Married with three children, Mishustin is a pianist and hockey player who is also part of the supervisory board of the CSKA hockey club in Russia.
She has also been praised by state media, in particular by Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of Russia's state RT network.
“Mishustin: this is digitalization, clarity, modern professionalism, decency, the removal of barriers to legitimate activity, innovative solutions, openness to global technology while taking care of adequate sovereignty… hostility to violent power methods… in short, everything we need now, ”Simonyan tweeted.
Mary Ilyushina reported and wrote from Moscow, Jack Guy wrote from London.
Vladimir Putin
