In a surprise decision, colleagues of Germany's designated new Foreign Minister, Irmgard Schwaetzer, rejected her nomination today and voted instead to name Justice Minister Klaus Kinkel to head the Foreign Ministry.

The decision surprised many German politicians, most of all Mrs. Schwaetzer, who broke into tears at the news of her defeat at a party meeting. She would have been the first woman to hold a senior cabinet post in Bonn.

Mr. Kinkel's selection came after 36 hours of confusion and maneuvering among Free Democratic Party members. The Free Democrats are junior members of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's governing coalition, and under an agreement among the coalition partners, they choose the Foreign Minister.

Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who had held the post for 18 years and become a symbol of German diplomacy, unexpectedly resigned Monday....