Updated 9.52pm
Boris Johnson has been appointed Foreign Secretary by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Downing Street has confirmed.
The former London mayor and 'Leave' campaigner will replace Philip Hammond, who was made Chancellor of the Exchequer following George Osborne's decision to quit the government.
His role in Britain's negotiations over its future relationship with the EU is likely to be limited, given that May is expected to create a new ministerial post focused on Brexit.
Nevertheless, as foreign minister, Johnson, who has never previously held a cabinet post, will have to address questions about the country's role in the world after its exit from the EU and he will inherit Britain's often difficult relationship with Russia.
David Davis, a senior Conservative lawmaker who was beaten by former prime minister David Cameron in the party's 2005 leadership election contest, was appointed to the newly-created role of Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.
He will take on the crucial role of securing Britain's economic security whilst unpicking over four decades of trade, legal and diplomatic ties to the EU.
Amber Rudd, a former British energy minister, will replace May at the UK Home Office. She became a lawmaker in 2010 and served as parliamentary private secretary to former finance minister George Osborne from 2012 to 2013 before joining the department for energy and climate change where she was promoted to minister in 2015.
Hammond was formerly Foreign Secretary. Photo: PAHammond, 60, served as transport secretary when the Conservatives took power in coalition with the centrist Lib Dems in 2010, moving to take charge of defence in 2011.
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His tenure as Foreign Secretary since 2014 was dominated by the Ukraine crisis, Syria's civil war and negotiations that led last year to a six-power agreement with Iran to scale back its nuclear programme.
As Chancellor, Hammond will have to manage an economy that appears to be slowing sharply after last month's vote to leave the EU, and set new budget goals after Osborne abandoned his aim to run a budget surplus by 2020.
Hammond, who campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU, once acknowledged that broadcasters referred to him ironically as "Box Office Phil" because he rarely made headlines.
He built up his economic credentials while the Conservatives were in opposition before 2010, serving as trade and industry spokesman and shadow treasury minister.
The announcement comes less than two hours after May succeeded David Cameron in No 10 with a promise to create "a country that works for everyone".