Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's government includes six new ministers including Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi, Oil Minister Abdullah Ghorab and those of interior, culture, justice and labour.

Sharaf, appointed on Thursday after protests against the presence of associates of Hosni Mubarak in the caretaker government running affairs since the former president's departure, has vowed to work for a democratic system.

Arabi, a former ambassador to the United Nations, was named as foreign minister on Sunday. The 75-year-old replaced Ahmed Abul Gheit, who had been in the job since 2004.

New premier Sharaf addressed thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday and was received with raucous cheers of support.

Sharaf was appointed after the unexpected resignation of Ahmed Shafiq, sparking celebrations from protesters demanding a purge of the remnants of Mubarak's regime.

Strongman Mubarak appointed Shafiq in the dying days of his rule in a bid to quell the protests, and Shafiq stayed on as head of the caretaker government.

The activists had put forward Sharaf's name during talks with the military eight days ago during which they also called for rapid, profound changes towards democracy.

A popular referendum on constitutional changes in Egypt has been set for March 19, an army source told AFP on Friday.

After Mubarak stepped down on February 11, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces formed a committee to pilot constitutional changes, headed by respected scholar Tarek al-Bishri, which proposed to limit presidential terms to two and reduce them to four years.

Under the suspended constitution, a president can serve an unlimited number of six-year terms.

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