Britain's David Cameron becomes prime minister

LONDON - Conservative leader David Cameron became Britain's youngest prime minister in almost 200 years yesterday after Gordon Brown stepped down, ending 13 years of Labour government.

Within minutes of Cameron's installment at 10 Downing St., an announcement followed that Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg would become deputy prime minister after days of hard bargaining with his former political rivals.

The agreement, reached over five sometimes tense days of negotiation, delivered Britain's first full coalition government since World War II.

Cameron and Clegg agreed to a pact after the Conservative Party won the most seats in Britain's May 6 national election, but fell short of winning a majority of seats in Parliament.

The 43-year-old leader said it would be "hard and difficult work" to govern as a coalition, adding that Britain had serious economic issues to tackle. After his arrival at Downing Street, the new prime minister also said, with wife Samantha beside him, that Britain's "best days lie ahead."

Cameron, who visited Buckingham Palace, was asked to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II less than an hour after Brown tendered his resignation to the monarch.

Hundreds of onlookers, many of them booing, crowded the gates of Downing Street to watch, as Cameron swept into his new home less than 90 minutes after an emotional Brown had made a farewell address.

Cameron's Conservative Party said ex-leader William Hague will serve as foreign secretary, senior lawmaker George Osborne as Treasury chief, and lawmaker Liam Fox as defense secretary.

Other leading positions were being finalized, as were key policy decisions ahead of the presentation of the coalition's first legislative program on May 25.

President Barack Obama phoned Cameron, inviting him to the United States in July. The pair discussed Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East peace process, according to a statement released by the new prime minister's office. Cameron also got a call from German leader Angela Merkel concerning the world economy.