BUDAPEST (AFP) - Hungary's new Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany presented his government, unveiling a cabinet made up of new names and leftovers from the previous Socialist-led administration.
Seven of the 17 ministers named are new to their posts, while 10 served in the previous Socialist-Liberal coalition government under former Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, Gyurcsany announced at a press conference, one day after assuming power.
Ferenc Somogyi, a 59-year-old former diplomat and businessman, will be the foreign minister from November 1, when current foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs is set to take over the post of European commissioner responsible for energy policy.
Tibor Draskovics is to remain on as finance minister.
"I wanted a more just sharing of the burden, with more responsibility on top and more opportunities at the bottom," Gyurcsany said in introducing his cabinet.
"This is what led my search" for the new cabinet members, he added.
A former communist youth leader turned millionaire businessman, Gyurcsany, 43, was elected by parliament on Wednesday.
His ministers are scheduled to take their oaths on Monday.
Gyurcsany assumed the nation's top job one month after Medgyessy resigned after losing the support of the Free Democrats, the Socialists' junior coalition partner.
Gyurcsany's cabinet remains Socialist-dominated, with only four of the 17 ministers belonging to the smaller, liberal Free Democrats.
The new prime minister also announced several reorganisations in the cabinet, which includes only two women.
Gyurcsany created the posts of minister for regional development and minister for European affairs, both of which will be positions without portfolio.
The equal opportunity ministry's tasks will be expanded with the portfolios of youth and family affairs, previously dealt with by the health and sports ministries.
The sports ministry will be eliminated, announced Gyurcsany, who held that post until his election as premier.
Analysts said Gyurcsany's decision to replace almost half of the cabinet was in line with his desire to create a new image for the Socialist-Liberal government ahead of the 2006 parliamentary elections.
"Gyurcsany is trying to communicate the important message that not only is the government programme changing, but also the people in government," said political analyst Gabor Torok.
Gyurcsany has pledged to give more opportunities to the needy and called on the wealthy to contribute more money in order to improve the lives of Hungarians, who joined the European Union on May 1.
"Hungary today is free but unjust," Gyurcsany declared in parliament on Wednesday just before he took the oath.
Gyurcsany's rapid rise in politics began when he became chief advisor to Medgyessy in 2002 and later his sports minister.
He had been de facto premier for the past month after replacing Medgyessy, and has announced that he will ease the tax burden on the middle classes and increase taxes on financial institutions.
He has also pledged to bring the public deficit down to under 3.0 percent by 2008 in order to stay on track for the adoption of the euro in 2010.
Gyurcsany was overwhelmingly elected at a special Socialist congress last month to replace Medgyessy, who lost the confidence of the junior coalition party when he fired his liberal economy minister despite the party's opposition.
Medgyessy became the first Hungarain premier to resign since Hungary's transition from communism to democracy in 1989.