Cairo: Egypt's military rulers today swore in a new Cabinet that includes new faces in key ministries, responding to protesters' demands that the new government be free of stalwarts of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The new Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, a US-educated civil engineer, is expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led the 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak to step down on February 11.
State TV showed members of the government taking an oath during today's swearing-in-ceremony before the head of Egypt's Armed Forces Supreme Council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.
The caretaker government's main job and challenge will be to help steer the country through reforms and toward free elections.
Among the most significant changes in the Cabinet designed to meet with protesters' demands, Sharaf named a new interior minister.
Maj Gen Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, replaces Mahmoud Wagdi, who held the post for less than a month. The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces.
El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf on Sunday that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the hated State Security agency.
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