Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday appointed Sean Chen as the new head of the region's administrative body and reshuffled its administrative body.

Chen, the incumbent deputy chief of the island's administrative body, replaces Wu Den-yih, the current administration head, who will become the island's new deputy leader in May.

A handover ceremony for the new and outgoing administrative members will be held on Feb. 6.

Ma said in a press release that he believed Chen would continue to demonstrate his expertise, capability and experience in the fields of finance and law, and would properly deal with the potential economic downturn the European debt crisis might bring.

In Chen's new administration, Jiang Yi-huah, incumbent head of the interior department under the current government, has been appointed Chen's deputy, and Lin Yi-shih, incumbent director-general of the ruling Kuomintang's policy committee, has been named secretary-general of the new administration.

Analyzing the lineup, observers say the new government will focus more on finance, disaster prevention and social welfare.