New Greek premier unveils cabinet

Fresh from leading the Socialist Party to a landslide victory in Greece, George Papandreou takes the reins of the government and signs decrees of key ministries to fulfill his election promises.

He appointed his Pasok party's finance spokeswoman, Louka Katseli, 57, as the economy minister and George Papakonstantinou, 49, as the finance minister. Both were educated overseas.

The appointments came after Papandreou, whose party won 44 percent of the votes to sweep Karamanlis' conservatives out of power, was sworn in as prime minister by Archbishop Leronymos, the head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, on Tuesday, in a ceremony watched by President Karolos Papoulias.

Greece's new socialist prime minister, who had promised a 100-day plan to steer the economy out of recession by creating jobs and cleaning up public finances, signed decrees that created an economy 'super-ministry' with powers over development and shipping, a vital source of Greece's income.

Papandreou also created four new ministries: Environment; Energy and Climate Change; Police and Civil Protection; and Finance and Infrastructures, a party spokesman said. He added that the premier will personally handle the foreign affairs portfolio.

Greece's other big earner, tourism, was placed under the Culture Ministry, which oversees archaeological sites and museums and put under Pavlos Geroulanos, a member of the prime minister's inner circle and a close adviser.

Papandreou, 57, says there will be new laws to redistribute income to the poor, bolster public investment, and clamp down on corruption.