Baghdad, Sept 03: The 24 men and one woman who will act as ministers in an interim government until elections are held in Iraq were sworn in today at a ceremony in Baghdad. "I swear by almighty Allah to do my utmost to serve and protect Iraq, its people, land and sovereignty, and Allah is my witness," said each minister in turn, as they placed their hand on a copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
The new cabinet, unveiled Monday, is divided up among the country's various communities, with 13 ministries going to Shiite Muslims, five to Sunni Muslims, five to Kurds, one to the Turkmenis and one to the Christians. The Christian cabinet member held a copy of the bible as he was sworn in. Several members of the cabinet were not able to attend the ceremony for "technical reasons" and were due to be sworn in later, said governing council member Ibrahim Jafari. Paul Bremer, the top US official in Iraq, attended the event in Baghdad's convention centre, now used as one of the us-led coalition's main administrative centres.
The new cabinet will report to the governing council, approved in July by the US-led coalition that ousted Saddam Hussein in April. Each ministry will also continue to be supervised by a coalition-appointed advisor, most of whom are American.
Paul Bremer will retain overall authority until an elected government is in place, a move scheduled for next year at the earliest.
Many countries around the world have hailed the new cabinet as a positive step towards Iraq regaining its sovereignty. Bureau Report