The cabinet includes new faces in key ministries, including Nabil Elarabi as foreign minister and Maj Gen Mansour el-Essawy as interior minister.

Essam Sharaf was named as the new prime minister last week, after demonstrators said his predecessor was unacceptable.

Protesters said Ahmed Shafiq - appointed before Hosni Mubarak stepped down - was too close to the old regime.

Mr Sharaf and the new ministers took the constitutional oath before Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military body which now rules the country.

Earlier, it was announced that a referendum on proposed constitutional reform in the country would be held on 19 March.

Parliamentary and presidential are due to take place within six months.