Danish Finance Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on April 5 was appointed as Denmark's new prime minister, replacing Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who resigned to prepare for his new job as NATO secretary general.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen AP PHOTO

Fogh Rasmussen handed in his resignation to Queen Margrethe earlier April 5, a day after NATO members chose him to succeed Jaap de Hoop Scheffer when the Dutchman's tenure as NATO leader ends July 31.

Lokke Rasmussen and Fogh Rasmussen, who are not related, are members of the Liberal Party, which governs in a coalition with the Conservatives. The center-right minority government is backed in parliament by the nationalist Danish People's Party.

NATO leaders April 4 appointed 56-year-old Fogh Rasmussen as NATO's new secretary general after overcoming Turkish objections to a leader who angered Muslims around the world by supporting the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad.