DAKAR, Nov 4 (AFP) - Idrissa Seck, one of President Abdoulaye Wade's closest aides, announced Monday he had been named Senegal's prime minister following the dissolution of the government less than two months after the country's worst ever ferry disaster. Seck replaces Mame Madior Boye, who was sacked by Wade along with the rest of the government in a move the media suggested could be linked to the sinking of an overcrowded ferry in September that cost 1,200 lives. The 43-year-old who served as director of Wade's office and as number two in his Senegalese Democratic Party must now quickly set about forming a new government. In a brief statement to reporters, Seck said he was determined to lead Senegal taking into account all its potential but also its weaknesses. He spoke of the two major tragic and joyous events in Senegal over the past year -- the ferry disaster and its success in the World Cup where the national team reached the quarter finals. The overcrowded Joola, a ship that plied the route between the southern province of Casamance and the capital Dakar, capsized in rough seas off the coast of Gambia -- a thin strip of a country that juts into the middle of Senegal -- on September 26. Wade last month accepted the resignations of the two ministers most closely associated with the catastrophe, Transport Minister Youssouph Sakho and Armed Forces Minister Youba Sambou. Boye became Senegal's first woman prime minister in March 2001 when Wade sacked his erstwhile ally Moustapha Niasse after tensions developed between the two men. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~