Egypt's new prime minister and his Cabinet were sworn in on Thursday, the first government since the election of a Muslim Brotherhood leader as the country's first freely elected president.

Prime Minister Hesham Kandil asked Egyptians to rally behind his new government, promising it would represent all the people and trying to deflect the belief that the Cabinet will be solely under the Brotherhood's sway.

The Cabinet seemed designed to avoid any appearance of Brotherhood domination, including several members of the out-going, military-picked government and mainly technocratic figures. Still, Brotherhood members took four ministries, including the key information minister post, which oversees state media.

It also retains in his post Hosni Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, a reflection of how the military, which Tantawi heads, still holds overwhelming powers in the country. The military had said weeks ago that it would decide who serves as defense minister.