Lucas Papademos was sworn in as Greece’s prime minister and head of the new unity government on Friday, in hopes of leading the country away from bankruptcy, Reuters reported.
Papademos and his ministers were sworn in by the president and the head of the Orthodox church. At the ceremony, Orthodox priests, who were led by the Archbishop of Athens, also blessed the new prime minister.
Read more at GlobalPost: Lucas Papademos named Greece's new PM
Following the swearing-in ceremony, the new Cabinet was scheduled to head to the Greek Parliament and hold its first meeting, CNN reported. A vote of confidence in the new government is expected after debate in Parliament on Monday and then the coalition will be faced with implementing the bailout package, CNN reported.
A banker and economist, Papademos is the former vice president of the European Central Bank. He has no political experience. Also sworn-in with Papademos was Stavros Dimas, the new foreign minister and Dimitris Avramopoulos, the new defense minister, CNN reported. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will keep his position in the new government.
Papademos has said his priority will be keeping Greece in the euro zone, BBC reported.
Greece’s economy has severely suffered since the country joined the euro zone two years ago, resulting in political instability as well, leading to the resignation of former-PM George Papandreou on Sunday. With the new national unity government in place, it is hoped some stability will be restored.
After the ceremony European markets were up slightly as of mid-day and US markets opened higher, CNN reported.
Read more at GlobalPost: Greece's new government: Why it won't matter
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