A cabinet of professors and diplomats has been sworn in in Greece to steer the debt-ridden eurozone state into fresh elections on June 17.

Panagiotis Pikrammenos, the senior judge who has taken over as prime minister, said the cabinet's sole task is to lead the country into the polls.

There has been deadlock since the May 6 election, over whether to continue with the austerity measures required by an international bailout agreement.

A leading German economist has suggested a Greek exit from the euro would be better for both Greece and the eurozone.

In the meantime, the 16-member cabinet includes a former army head as defence minister; a former police chief, as minister for public order and a professor of constitutional law, as interior minister.