Newly appointed Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger wears a face mask as he arrives to a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, on March 30, 2021. (VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP)

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

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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.

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