Key figures in new Argentine govt

The centre-left leader, who will be sworn in on Saturday, was re-elected with 54 percent of the vote on pledges to intensify the interventionist, pro-growth policies that please many Argentines but irk many farmers and business leaders. Here are brief profiles of some of the key figures in Fernandez's new government:

HERNAN LORENZINO, ECONOMY MINISTER

Lorenz no has served as Argentina's finance secretary since April 2008 and is seen as being close to outgoing Economy Minister Amado Boudou, who will become Fernandez's vice president. Last year, Lorenzino helped promote a second round of debt swaps, aimed at mopping up remaining bonds unpaid since the country's roughly $100 billion sovereign default in 2002.

He has also played a key role in stalled negotiations to repay some $9 billion in defaulted debt to the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations. He is viewed as having decent relations with bankers and investors and as being more market-friendly than some other administration officials.

JUAN MANUEL ABAL MEDINA, CABINET CHIEF

The appointment of Abal Medina as cabinet chief is perhaps the most significant change to Fernandez's government.

Named media secretary in January 2011, Abal Medina represents the young, left-leaning intellectual face of Kirchnerism that Fernandez has given greater prominence since the death of her husband and presidential predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, last year.

His appointment could prove a controversial choice among her more traditional Peronist allies, such as the powerful mayors of the Buenos Aires suburbs, but is likely to be popular with the La Campora youth group founded by Fernandez's son, Maximo Kirchner. Abal Medina replaces Anibal Fernandez, who is generally linked to the more traditional wing of the fragmented party and was seen to have lost influence in recent months.

AMADO BOUDOU, VICE PRESIDENT

Current economy minister Boudou, who will be sworn in as vice president on Saturday, won Fernandez's trust when she nationalized private pension funds in 2008. Boudou was head of the Anses pension’s agency at the time.

Appointed as economy chief in mid-2009, he led the government's exchange of some $12.6 billion in defaulted bonds for new debt in 2010, seeking to reduce lawsuits by so-called holdout creditors and improve credit conditions for state and private entities affected by the country's record $100 billion default in 2002.

Some analysts think Boudou will likely maintain a role in economic policy as vice president.

MERCEDES MARCO DEL PONT, CENTRAL BANK PRESIDENT

Marco del Pont will continue at the helm of the central bank, a job she has held since February 2010, when the former bank president was ousted for resisting Fernandez's plan to use foreign reserves to pay debt.

Marco del Pont, a close political ally of Fernandez, takes an unorthodox view of monetary policy, saying it should help foster growth and job creation rather than be focused on fighting inflation. She favours a strong industrial sector and policies to promote development.

JULIO DE VIDO, PLANNING MINISTER

An architect by training, De Vido has served as federal planning minister since Kirchner took office in 2003 and will stay on from Saturday. He is seen as one of the most powerful officials in the government, with reasonably good ties to the private sector.

De Vido's ministry oversees energy policy and he has had to calm investors' nerves amid government price controls and near-frozen rates on natural gas and electrical power.

He has regained prominence in recent weeks by leading the government's drive to trim hefty state subsidies on gas, power and water supplies that are straining public finances.

NORBERTO YAHUAR, AGRICULTURE MINISTER

Undersecretary of Fishing Norberto Yahuar will replace Julian Dominguez at the agriculture ministry in one of the world's biggest grains exporters.

Yahuar, a career politician in his native Chubut province and a close ally of the centre-left government, is relatively unknown among analysts in the country's multibillion dollar grains industry

He will face such challenges as maintaining an improved relationship with farmers as well as implementing new government grains trade policies, including an overhaul of local corn and wheat markets to help improve profits for growers.

Copyright Reuters, 2011