Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko was elected chairwoman of the Interparliamentary Assembly (IPA) of the CIS, ITAR-TASS reports. She was elected unanimously today at a meeting of the CIS council in St. Petersburg with the participation of the representatives of the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
The chair of the Council of the CIS Council Interparliamentary Assembly is usually elected by secret ballot for one year with the possibility of reelection for another term. Before Matvienko, Sergei Mironov was chairman for several years.
The chairman of the IPA of the CIS Council is responsible for organizing the work of the Assembly and its bodies, as well as meetings of the Council of the Assembly. The chairman also signs decisions of the Assembly and represents the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in negotiations with other organizations.
