Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło has resigned just hours after surviving an opposition no-confidence motion.
She will be replaced by Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) said.
Szydło’s resignation was announced hours after an opposition motion of no confidence in her was overwhelmingly defeated in parliament.
A party spokeswoman Beata Mazurek told reporters: “The Law and Justice Party political committee has proposed the candidature of Mateusz Morawiecki for prime minister.”
Szydło did not give a reason for resigning but said on Twitter: “The last two years – it was an extraordinary time for me and the service to Poland and Poles was an honour.”
Morawiecki is credited with boosting a sales tax revenue that helps pay for popular social policies such as child subsidies.
Correspondents say he represents the younger, moderate face of the party and may help improve Poland’s tarnished image abroad.
Some other EU states, including Germany, have been dismayed by the Polish government’s refusal to accept refugees under an EU relocation scheme, and by its attempts to refashion the media and judiciary.
