DAKAR, Nov 7 (AFP) - Senegal's new Prime Minister Idrissa Seck named his cabinet late Wednesday, bringing back most of the ministers who served in the previous government. Seck, 43, was appointed Monday by President Abdoulaye Wade as Senegal's eighth prime minister since it won independence from France in 1960. He replaces Mame Madior Boye who was sacked by Wade along with the rest of the government in a move the media suggested was linked to a ferry tragedy in September that cost 1,200 lives. The overcrowded Joola, a ship that plies the route between the southern province of Casamance and the capital Dakar, capsized in rough seas off the coast of Gambia -- a thin strip of a country that juts into the middle of Senegal -- on September 26. In his cabinet line-up named Wednesday, outgoing foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio was returned to his post, as were interior minister Mamadou Niang and finance minister Landing Savane. But the defense ministry was handed to Becaye Diop, formerly education minister. The new government has 31 members, compared to 25 for the previous Boye administration. There are eight women in the new team. Among the new faces is former footballer Youssoupha Ndiaye, who becomes sports minister. Seck is the third prime minister to serve under Wade, who was elected in March 2000, beating former president Abdou Diouf and ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party. Seck's two predecessors led the government for one year, in the case of Moustapha Niasse, and a year and a half for Boye. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~