Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has appointed Party of Regions MP Pavlo Lebedev as the Ukrainian Defense Minister.

The decree was published on the presidential Web site on Monday.

Earlier Yanukovych dismissed Defense Minister Dmytro Salamatin.

Lebedev was born on July 12, 1962 in Russia. In 1984, he graduated from Yaroslavl High Military Financial School.

In 2006-2007, he was member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the fifth convocation elected on the list of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko. He was a member of the Committee on Transport and Communications (from July 2006).

Since 2007, he has been member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the sixth convocation elected on the list of the Party of Regions. He was member of the Committee on Transport and Communications (from December 2007).

Lebedev has been elected to the current parliament in single-seat constituency No. 224 (Sevastopol). He is member of the parliamentary faction of the Party of Regions in the Verkhovna Rada.