Iraq's cabinet sworn in

2005-05-03 17:01

Baghdad - Shiite Arab leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari was sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday as Iraq's first democratically elected government took office.

One by one, al-Jaafari and members of his cabinet walked up to a podium and pledged to defend Iraq and its people.

But a number of ministries - including the key defense and oil industries - remained in temporary hands. Al-Jaafari had promised to form a government that would win over members of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, believed to make up the backbone of the country's deadly insurgency.

But members of his Shiite-dominated alliance rejected candidates with ties to Saddam Hussein's brutal regime.

After months of wrangling, al-Jaafari negotiated a cabinet that so far includes 15 Shiite Arab ministers, seven Kurds, four Sunnis and one Christian.

Two of four deputy prime ministers were also sworn in Tuesday, a Shiite and a Kurd.

Al-Jaafari will act as defensc minister - a post promised to the Sunnis - until consensus can be reached on a new one.

And former Pentagon favourite Ahmad Chalabi, the Shiite deputy prime minister, was given temporary responsibility for the key oil ministry.

Even with some Sunnis in government, insurgents have made clear there will be no letup in the violence tearing at the country, unleashing a torrent of bombings and shootings in recent days.

President Jalal Talabani wished the new cabinet well in its historic task. Underscoring lingering divisions, however, many lawmakers stayed away from the ceremony, which took place in a half-empty hall inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

- AP