Mugabe appoints ZANU-PF lawyer as Zimbabwe finance minister

Reuters
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa attends a news conference in Pretoria, outside Johannesburg May 30, 2008. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe named Justice Minister and top ruling party legal official Patrick Chinamasa as his finance minister on Tuesday as he appointed his cabinet in the wake of a July 31 election victory dismissed by the opposition as a fraud. In an official list released at State House, the veteran leader nominated Walter Chidhakwa to run the key mining portfolio and placed outgoing environment minister Francis Nhema in charge of a push to increase black ownership of the economy. (Reporting by Cris Chinaka; Editing by Ed Cropley)