国际英语新闻:Greek coalition gov't reshuffled

ATHENS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Greece's conservative-led two partite coalition government leaders proceeded with a sweeping cabinet reshuffle, the new government spokesperson Sophia Voultepsi announced on Monday.

In one of the key changes, Yannis Stournaras was replaced at the helm of the debt-laden country's Finance Ministry by fellow Economics Professor Gikas Hardouvelis.

Hardouvelis has served as Director of the Economic Office of former Prime Ministers Lucas Papademos and Costas Simitis. Currently he is also Chief Economist and Director of Research in the Greek Eurobank Group.

The shake-up comes a few days after the May 25 elections for the European Parliament in which main opposition radical left Syriza party gained ground.

In the new line-up, socialist PASOK party chief Evangelos Venizelos keeps the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.

In other key posts, Dimitris Avramopoulos also remains in place as Defense Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Administrative Reform Minister, Olga Kefaloyannis as Tourism Minister, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis as Shipping Minister and Michalis Chryssohoidis as Transport Minister.

Outgoing Public Order Minister was named Development and Competitiveness Minister, while ruling New Democracy party MP Argyris Dinopoulos as Interior Minister.

Through the new reshuffle Prime Minister Antonis Samaras aims to breathe new life into the coalition to implement more reforms needed to exit the four-year economic crisis, according to analysts in Athens.

The new cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.