Duda appoints new members of Polish government
President Andrzej Duda has appointed the new members of the Council of Ministers following the cabinet reshuffle presented by Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday.
According to the constitution, the president formally appoints the new ministers before they can assume their new roles.
At a ceremony held in the Presidential Palace on Thursday afternoon, Duda appointed the current foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, to the rank of deputy prime minister.
Marcin Kierwinski has returned to the post of interior minister, replacing Tomasz Siemoniak, who will focus on his role of minister-coordinator of special services.
Judge Waldemar Zurek, a staunch opponent of the previous government's judiciary reforms, has been appointed justice minister.
Andrzej Domanski, the finance minister in Tusk's government before the reshuffle, will lead the expanded ministry of finance and economy, while Milosz Motyka, a former deputy climate minister, will head another new ministry, of energy, becoming the youngest member of Tusk's government just before turning 33.
Other appointees include Stefan Krajewski, the new agriculture minister, and Wojciech Balczun, who previously led Poland's Industrial Development Agency (ARP), as the minister of state assets.
Lawyer and manager Jolanta Sobieranska-Grenda has been appointed health minister, and political scientist and culture manager Marta Cienkowska has become minister of culture.
Jakub Rutnicki, a member of parliament of many years, will head the sports ministry, and Maciej Berek, who was previously responsible for deregulation in Tusk's government, has become minister supervising the implementation of government policy.
Jan Grabiec as a member of the Council of Ministers will head the Public Benefit Committee.
"Today, security is the absolutely, fundamentally important issue for our compatriots, Duda said during the ceremony. Poles need to know "who governs, who takes responsibility, and who holds state matters in their hands", he added.
He said that from that moment, the country had a stable and clear government, which put an end to all political speculation. (PAP)
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