Belarus’ authoritarian leader names new foreign minister and reshuffles other top officials

Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has reshuffled his top officials in what observers see as part of maneuvering ahead of the 2025 presidential election. Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million with an iron hand for three decades and declared his intention to seek a seventh term next year, on Thursday replaced his chief of staff along with the country’s foreign minister and several other senior officials. Lukashenko has unleashed a sweeping crackdown on the opposition in response to massive protests that were triggered by his disputed reelection in the August 2020 presidential election that the opposition and the West have denounced as rigged.