BAGHDAD, May 9 (AFP) - 11h56 - The Iraqi cabinet was sworn in for the second time in a week Monday after Kurdish leaders insisted a reference to federalism that had been removed from the original text be reinserted.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari was the first to take the oath again, his hand on the Koran.

Science and Technology Minister Bassema Yusef Butrus, the only Christian in the 36-member cabinet, pledged allegiance to the Iraqi state with her hand on a bible.

"I swear before God the Almighty to preserve Iraq's independence, the interest of its people, its sovereignty, its waters and its natural resources as well as its democratic and federal system, and implement the law earnestly and fairly," the cabinet members said.

The reference to the democratic and federal nature of the Iraqi state was dropped from the oath text read by the partial cabinet on May 3, sparking the ire of Kurdish leaders.

Massoud Barzani, the charismatic leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, had warned on Friday that the removal of these key words from the text could threaten the Kurdish-Shiite alliance in the Iraqi executive.

The winning Shiite alliance headed by Jaafari holds more than half of the seats in parliament but needs the support of the 77 Kurdish MP's to secure the two-thirds majority required for important decisions.

The principle of federalism is of paramount importance to the Kurds, who already enjoy a high level of autonomy in northern Iraq and want to see it enshrined in the permanent constitution, which is to be drafted this year.