Bangkok, Thailand ? Thailand’s king swore in post-coup Cabinet ministers on Monday, urging them to work honestly as the country tries to move beyond its political crisis.

The top jobs of the interim government – announced early in the day in a television broadcast while most Thais slept – were given to economists, high-profile civil servants and two retired military officers, all of whom are expected to govern until elections in October 2007.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed by the military after the Sept. 19 coup that ousted former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, led his Cabinet at the ceremony. Donning white official uniforms, they stood in rows before King Bhumibol Adulyadej as he delivered a speech at Chitlada Palace in Bangkok.

Bhumibol urged the ministers to “act honestly as you have sworn to do,” and to work hard with good intentions “because the country has just passed a moment of crisis.”