Slovak president appoints Heger prime minister, ending political crisis

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Slovak President Zuzana Caputova appointed Eduard Heger as the new prime minister on Thursday, ending a month-long political crisis.

Heger takes over from his party chairman Igor Matovic, who in turn takes Heger’s former seat at the finance ministry. The swap is aimed at quelling coalition disputes sparked by Matovic’s surprise purchase of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in March.

(Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Catherine Evans)