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Greece announces interim government as country heads to early elections

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

The makeup of Greece's interim government was announced on Friday as the country is heading to early national elections in September.

The transitional administration, which is traditionally comprised by widely respected cross-party technocrats, veteran politicians and professors, is tasked with organizing the ballots in the early elections.

The new government is headed by Supreme Court chief Vassiliki Thanou. The 65-year-old judge, appointed caretaker premier by the President of the Republic under the Constitution, took her oath on Thursday evening to become Greece's first female prime minister.

Among other key figures in the new cabinet lineup are new Finance Minister Yorgos Chouliarakis, who is a leading member of the Greek team in negotiations with international creditors in recent years, and Nikos Christodoulakis, a former Finance, Economy and Development Minister who was appointed new Economy and Development Minister.

Veteran diplomat and former Foreign Affairs Minister Petros Molyviatis was named as Foreign Affairs Minister, while popular Greek singer Alkistis Protopsalti was appointed Culture Minister.

The ministers of the transitional government will be sworn in on Friday in a ceremony at the Presidential mansion, after which the formal dissolution of the current parliament is expected. The ballot date, which is most likely to be September 20, will be announced on the same day.

The interim administration takes over following the resignation of the eight-month Leftist government last week and a failed attempt by the leaders of the three largest parties to form a unity government.

Alexis Tsipras, the former Prime Minister who triggered the snap polls with his resignation, argued that politicians should hear from the voters again on how to move the country forward after his government signed a third bailout agreement with lenders this summer to address the five-year debt crisis. Endi