37-member Sri Lankan cabinet sworn-in

All 37 members of the cabinet were sworn-in by Rajapaksa at a ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat here, an official release said.

While the cabinet has several old faces, Basil Rajapaksa, the powerful senior Presidential Adviser, is among the noted new comers.

He has been appointed the Economic Development Minister. The President's other two brothers are also in politics. Gotabhaya is the Defence Secretary, while Chamal is the new Speaker of Parliament.

While Prof G L Peiris will replace Rohitha Bogollagama as the Foreign Minister, former Prime Minister Ratnasri Wickramanayake will be Public Management and Reforms Minister.
The ruling UPFA secured 144 seats, six short of two-thirds majority in Parliament, while main Opposition United National party got 60 seats and detained former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka-led Democratic National Alliance 7 seats.

The swearing-in also comes two days after D N Jayaratne was appointed as the Prime Minister.

After the swearing in of the cabinet, Rajapaksa asked the new ministers to work collectively towards fulfilling the aspirations of the public.