Austria's women's minister is a man

Ms Sickl meets former Freedom Party head Joerg Haider last week

A man has been sworn in in Austria as minister for women.

The new minister, Herbert Haupt, replaces Elisabeth Sickl, who was dismissed over the weekend.

Mr Haupt's social affairs portfolio includes the Women's Ministry, which was independent until February, when the current government came to power.

Mr Haupt and Ms Sickl are both members of the far-right Freedom Party, whose entry into the governing coalition prompted Austria's partners in the European Union to impose a seven-month diplomatic boycott.

Party at low ebb

Mr Haupt is a veterinary surgeon by training.

The Freedom Party hopes his appointment will boost its credibility after a miserable performance in local elections earlier this month.

Untimely public comments by Ms Sickl have also not helped its standing.

Party head Susanne Riess-Passer praised Ms Sickl's work.

But she told state television the departing minister had not presented her achievements sufficiently well to the outside world.

Ms Sickl says she will now retire from political life, leaving Austrian women's policy in the hands of a man for the first time in the country's history.