By Lesley Foottit - 12th October 2009
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead now has responsibility within the Foreign Office for Africa, Downing Street has announced.
Although no longer Europe minister, she will continue to speak on European affairs in the House of Lords.
Junior Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant is her replacement and has assumed overall responsibility for European affairs.
The move effectively downgrades the importance of Europe in Gordon Brown's government as Bryant remains a parliamentary under-secretary while Baroness Kinnock held the post as a minister of state.
The prime minister's spokesman described the mini-reshuffle as "housekeeping" following former Africa minister Lord Malloch-Brown's departure from government.
The former United Nations official resigned in July for "family and personal reasons".
Gordon Brown's spokesman said that there would be no "specific replacement" for him, adding: "I would characterise it as housekeeping and a sensible adjustment of portfolios."
The spokesman insisted that the prime minister has been "very pleased" with both Baroness Kinnock and Bryant, who had previously covered African and Asian affairs in the ministry.
Bryant revealed his new role as Europe minister early on Monday morning via social networking site Twitter, prior to the official announcement.
"Off to work with a new job – minister for Europe," he tweeted at around 8.00am.
Number 10 confirmed the announcement at its mid-morning lobby briefing.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd