Bacho Akhalaia, who has been defense minister for past three years, will become interior minister, replacing Vano Merabishvili, who will now become PM after more than seven years of serving as interior minister.

Education Minister Dimitri Shashkin will replace Akhalaia on the post of Defense Minister.

Khatia Dekanoidze, former rector of the police academy, who took over education ministry’s center in charge of nationwide university exams a month ago after a controversial dismissal of the center’s former head, will replace Shashkin on the post of Education Minister.

Dali Khomeriki, who has served in the Tbilisi-based exiled Abkhaz government as an education minister, will replace Koba Subeliani on the post of minister in charge of IDPs.

Other ministers remain unaffected by the cabinet reshuffle.

The reshuffle will also see introduction of a new post – Minister for Employment, which will be held by Paata Trapaidze, a chief executive of construction firm Caucasus Road Project Ltd.

The reshuffled cabinet and its new program have been submitted to the Parliament for approval, President Saakashvili’s spokesperson, Manana Manjgaladze, said on July 3.

Parliament will hold a session to approve the new cabinet on July 4.