The office of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the country's ambassador to the United States has been appointed foreign minister for Rousseff's second term in office. AP reported that Mauro Luiz Lecker Vieira was among 14 ministerial appointments unveiled Wednesday in a statement from Rousseff's office. The ministers are to be sworn in during Thursday's presidential inauguration ceremony in the capital, Brasilia. Vieira had served as Brazil's ambassador to Washington, D.C., since 2010. His appointment is seen as a bid to bolster ties to the U.S., strained by revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency had targeted Brazil in its spying programs. The current foreign minister, Luiz Figueiredo Machado, will replace Vieira as ambassador to the U.S., the statement said. -- SPA 20:16 LOCAL TIME 17:16 GMT تغريد
