George Papandreou sworn in as new Greek prime minister

Greek Prime Minister-elect George Papandreou (R) swears in during a ceremony in Athens, capital of Greece, Oct. 6, 2009. Papandreou, leader of Greece's main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party that won a landslide victory in Sunday's general elections, was given a mandate Monday to form a government by Greek President Karolos Papoulias.(Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

George Papandreou, head of the Greek socialist's PASOK party which triumphed in Sunday's general elections, was sworn in Tuesday morning as Greece's new prime minister.

Papandreou was sworn in by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, in the presence of President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias.

A few moments later, the new premier paid a short and moving visit to his predecessor, Costas Karamanlis at the Maximou mansion, which is the official government headquarters, for the official handover.

They exchanged a warm handshake amid the cheers of PASOK's followers and Karamanlis congratulated Papandreou and wished him "all the best for the benefit of the country."

The new prime minister replied with the best wishes for the recovery of Karamanlis' mother, who was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

Later in the day Papandreou is expected to announce the composition of his cabinet, which "will be small with many women participating," as political analysts in Athens predict. The new government will be sworn in on Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, in the main opposition party of New Democracy, Thessaloniki's prefect Panagiotis Psomiadis said this morning tha the will contest the leadership of the party. It's the first candidacy for the role.

Source: Xinhua