PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - President Rene Preval said yesterday he has nominated former Cabinet member and close ally Jacques Edouard Alexis as prime minister.

PREVAL . made nomination yesterday

If confirmed by Parliament, Alexis, 58, would succeed interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, who was appointed to lead this impoverished Caribbean nation after an uprising ousted former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.

Alexis, who was prime minister and education minister during Preval's 1996-2001 presidency, is considered a good negotiator with the clout needed to hold sway in Haiti's splintered Parliament, which includes 16 different parties.

"He is trustworthy and knows what he is doing," said Preval, who took power eight days ago, speaking to reporters after meeting with legislators.

Haitian lawmakers didn't say when they would vote on the nomination.
Alexis told Haitian broadcaster Radio Metropole that he would work to form "an open government" - an apparent indication he would include members from different sectors of Haiti's fractured society.

As the official head of government, Alexis would appoint Preval's Cabinet and most administrative posts.
Alexis, who like Preval is an agronomist, had an icy relationship with the international community at some points during his first term as prime minister.

When foreign donors threatened to cut off aid to protest flawed legislative elections in 2000, Alexis likened the move to the time Haiti won independence from France in 1804 and "the international community was against us."

Aristide won the country's first free elections in 1990 but was ousted the following year in a coup. The United States sent 20,000 troops to restore Aristide.

Alexis could also face pressure to bring back Aristide, who took asylum in South Africa after the 2004 revolt but has said he wants to return to his homeland.

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