German Chancellor Names New MinistersGerman Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder chose new health and agriculture ministers for his red-green coalition on Wednesday, after both predecessors resigned over the madcow disease crisis.At a press conference, Schroeder said the agriculture and health ministries will be better informed on how to protect consumers' health, food security and farming interests. Renate Kuenast, co-chairwoman of the Green Party, has been named the new agriculture minister, replacing Karl-Heinz Funke, who quit Tuesday evening under heavy accusations of complacency in coping with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic. Ulla Schmidt, deputy chief of the parliamentary faction in Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD), was named the new health minister, replacing Andrea Fischer who also resigned Tuesday over the BSE crisis. |
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