Indonesia's new president announced her long-awaited cabinet Thursday, winning immediate praise for her choice of a team to pull the country out of years of crisis. Looking relaxed and confident in the presidential palace that was her childhood home, Megawati Sukarnoputri picked a mostly professional team, although she also handed a number of posts to major political parties and potential foes. Many of the top positions went to technocrats, a signal Indonesia may at last have a cabinet chosen more for its skills than its political affiliations. She picked widely respected former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as chief political and security minister, a job he was sacked from in the last days of the previous government.
The former vice-president and daughter of founding president Sukarno came to power nearly three weeks ago when the top legislative assembly sacked Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence after just 21 months in office. Bureau Report