Foreign and interior ministers are the biggest casualties in a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle by prime minister designate Ewa Kopacz.

Ewa Kopacz announced new government on Friday in Warsaw: photo - PAP//Radek Pietruszka

Radoslaw Sikorski, in office at the foreign ministry for the last seven years and deputy leader of the ruling centre-right Civic Platform, has been replaced by former interior minister Grzegorz Schetyna.

Teresa Piotrowska is taking over at the interior ministry from Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz.

New PM Ewa Kopacz, who takes over as head of government after Donald Tusk was elected as president of the EU's European Council earlier this month, announced the changes to the government at the Warsaw University of Technology on Friday morning, ahead of crucial local government elections this autumn.

“This is a government of strong personalities,” Kopacz, who is to stand down as speaker of the lower house of parliament, said as she announced the changes.

Sikorski is to take over from Ewa Kopacz as speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Before the reshuffle was announced, Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, who,along with Radoslaw Sikorski was the subject of embarrassing secret recordings released by a magazine over the summer, said his ministerial career was now over.

“Yes, I have finished my work. It's the will of the prime minister,”Sienkiewicz, who lead the ministry for 19 months, told journalists Friday morning.

“The most important task is for the new team to rebuild Poles' trust,” Kopacz said.

There will be no change at the finance, treasury, defence, economy, education, sports and tourism, culture and environment ministries, she added.

Defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak will also become one of two deputy prime ministers - the other is Janusz Piechociński leader of the junior coalition partner PS, whose three cabinet posts have been unaffected by the reshuffle -and Jacek Cichocki remains as head of the Prime Minister's Office.

Cezary Grabarczyk, previously an infrastructure minister, will be the new minister of justice.

Andrzej Halicki will be minister of administration and digitization and Maria Wasiak will take over as minister at infrastructure and development from Elzbieta Bienkowska, who is taking up a post at the European Commission.

Outgoing prime minister Donald Tusk will take up his post as president of the European Council in Brussels from Herman van Rompuy on 1 December. (pg)

