K. Skubiszewski, charted pro-Western path for Poland

WARSAW, Poland - Poland's government says Krzysztof Skubiszewski, a legal expert who became Poland's first foreign minister after communism's collapse and helped the country chart a pro-Western course, has died. He was 83.

The Foreign Ministry made the announcement Monday but did not give the cause of death.

Skubiszewski became foreign minister in 1989 under Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first post-communist prime minister. He served under three more prime ministers in that volatile time before leaving the job in 1993.

During his time in office, Warsaw opened talks with NATO that eventually led to Poland joining the alliance.

He also played a key role in winning Germany's unequivocal recognition of Poland's western border when Germany reunited in 1990.

- AP