Greece appoints new Foreign Minister after Macedonia name row

Greece’s leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has appointed Giorgos Katrougalos as the new Foreign Minister, Government spokesman Dimitris Tzankopoulos said. Katrougalos, 55, is a jurist and a university professor at the eastern city of Komotini. He served as a European parliamentarian between 2014 to2015, representing Tsipras’ Syriza and is to be sworn on Monday. He fills the post vacated with the departure of Nikos Kotzias, who stepped down in October amid a row in the governing coalition over the deal which allowed Greece’s northern neighbour to join NATO after it renamed itself North Macedonia. Kotzias was Athens’ chief negotiator in preparations for the historic deal in June. Earlier the deal was implemented, ending a row over the name Macedonia after 28 years. Tsipras had doubled as the chief diplomat in the meantime.