Tomáš Petříček appointed Czech foreign minister

President Miloš Zeman appointed Tomáš Petříček of the Social Democrats Czech minister of foreign affairs in a ceremony at Prague Castle on Tuesday morning. Mr. Petříček, who is 37, had formerly been a deputy foreign minister.

The president rejected the Social Democrats’ previous nominee for the post of foreign policy chief, Miroslav Poche, and the party’s interior minister, Jan Hamáček, filled the role for a number of months in a caretaker capacity.