Papademos swears in at head of unity Govt.

ATHENS: Economist Lucas Papademos was formally sworn in Friday as the head of Greece's new unity government, as the nation seeks to regain political and financial stability after weeks of uncertainty.

Papademos, a former banker and European Central Bank vice president, becomes the country's interim prime minister after several days of political wrangling.

His ministers were also sworn in at a ceremony attended by the president and the head of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has retained his post in the new government, the prime minister's office said.

Stavros Dimas, a former EU environment commissioner, is the new foreign minister. He belongs to the New Democracy party, the main opposition to the previous government.

A vote of confidence in the new government is expected after debate in Parliament on Monday. Then the coalition will face the challenge of implementing a bailout package and austerity measures agreed to with European leaders last month.