Ivory Coast President Appoints New Prime Minister Ivory Coast's president has appointed a new prime minister. The announcement Tuesday comes nearly a week after Guillaume Soro resigned from the post in order to become a member of parliament. In an address Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou expressed his "deep gratitude" to President Alassane Ouattara for the new position. He promised to address insecurity, corruption and criminality in the West African nation. Ahoussou was formerly the minister of justice. Former Prime Minister Soro, who held the post for five years, was elected head of parliament on Monday with a near-unanimous vote. Ivory Coast was plunged into months of violence in late 2010 when former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the election. Ouattara was sworn-in last May.