BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's 63-year-old Prime Minister Apas Dzhumagulov resigned on Tuesday, saying that reforms in his Central Asian state would demand stronger stamina than he has. "Dzhumagulov said he was resigning because his age was beginning to tell and the advance of reform demanded strength and unconventional decisions," presidential spokesman Kanybek Imanaliyev said. President Askar Akayev, who is likely to address parliament on Wednesday, may name the country's new prime minister on the same day. According to Kyrgyzstan's constitution, the president appoints the prime minister with the consent of parliament. Akayev's decree, issued earlier on Tuesday, said Dzhumagulov's cabinet would continue in office until the appointment of a new prime minister. Dzhumagulov, an oil engineer by education who has been prime minister since 1993, also headed Kyrgyzstan's Soviet-era government. Dzhumagulov has played a leading role in promoting Akayev's radical market reforms, which resulted in rapid privatisation, low inflation and steady economic growth. Imanaliyev said that Dzhumagulov might be appointed an ambassador to "one of the major countries". Akayev's chief of staff, Kubanychbek Dzhumaliyev, will be acting prime minister. Business and political circles in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek have said Dzhumaliyev is the strongest candidate to take over the job.