Polish PM sacks defence and foreign ministers in cabinet reshuffle

Defence minister Antoni Macierewicz, foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski and environment minister Jan Szyszko lose jobs as Premier Morawiecki tries to mend ties with EU partners.

This file photo taken on September 26, 2017 in Warsaw shows then Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki walking in a corridor.
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This file photo taken on September 26, 2017 in Warsaw shows then Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki walking in a corridor.

Poland's new right-wing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sacked his defence and foreign ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, as he seeks to mend ties with the country's EU partners.

Controversial defence minister Antoni Macierewicz and foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski lost their jobs along with environment minister Jan Szyszko, among others.

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This file photo taken on December 12, 2016 shows Poland's former foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski attending a EU foreign affairs council at the European Council in Brussels.

Poland's ruling conservatives  replaced Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as the country's new prime minister on December 7, 2017, as the party geared up for a series of elections in the coming years.

Morawiecki, who has also been a deputy prime minister, had replaced the largely popular Beata Szydlo, marking the midpoint of the parliamentary term and in what is the beginning of an expected broader government reshuffle.

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This file photo taken on September 15, 2016 in Warsaw shows Polish former defence minister Antoni Macierewicz during a press conference of the commission investigating the 2010 presidential plane crash.

Local elections will be held in 2018, parliamentary in 2019 and presidential in 2020 in the country.

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