 On 28 October, Westerwelle was sworn in as Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor, becoming the head of the Foreign Office.His deputies at the Foreign Office were his close political ally Cornelia Pieper and foreign policy expert Werner Hoyer as Ministers of State.Hoyer had previously held the same office in the Cabinet Kohl V. In a much-discussed move, Westerwelle travelled to Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium before visiting France.