Iraq’s New 42-seat Cabinet discussed by Parliament Tuesday:

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s new 42-seat Cabinet, was presented to the Parliament by Prime Minister Designate, Nouri al-Maliki, for ratification today, after about 9 months of political struggle, considered the longest in the country’s modern history, among leading political blocs that won March 9th nationwide elections. The new government, comprising 42 ministers, state ministers, vice-presidents and deputy-prime ministers, includes 18 cabinet posts for the National Alliance, occupying 159 seats in the 325-seat Parlilament, representing Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, the Sadrist Trend, the Supreme Islamic Council and al-Fadhila (Vertue) Party. The share of al-Iraqiya Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, occupying 91 parliament seats, will be 11 cabinet seats, whilst the share of North Iraq’s Kurdistan Coalition, led by Iraq’s President and leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan President and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), holding 49 parliament seats, will be 7 cabinet posts, and the remaining cabinet posts will be distributed among the small and independent blocs. President Talabani had officially assigned Prime Minister Maliki on 25/11/2010 to form the new Iraqi government, 14 days after Talabini’s election by the Parliament of a second Presidency session, and the Parliament’s election of al-Iraqiya leader, Usama al-Nujeifi for its Speaker’s post, with the leader of the Sadrist Trend, Qusay al-Suheil for his 1st Deputy and the Kurdistan Coalition’s candidate, Aref Teifor, for the Speaker’s 2nd Deputy’s post. The Iraqi political status, that followed a Marathon discussions among different political blocs had led to the formation of a national-partnership government, comprising the main political forces, that encouraged Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, to call on the main forces occupying the majority of Parliament seats, to meet in Arbil. The Arbil meeting had succeeded to reach an agreement to distribute the leading State positions and form a new cabinet, led by Nouri al-Maliki and shared by al-Iraqiya Coalition, led by Iyad Allawi, that laid certain conditions to sharre in the new government, forefronted by the formation of the National Council for Strategic Policies (NCSP), enjoying new authorities, led by Allawi, along with an agreement to share power among Masoud Barzani, Iyad Allawi and Nouri al-Maliki, on 10/11/2010. “The candidates’ names are Hoshyar Zebari, Rafia al-Issawi, Ahmad Nasser Dali, Mohammad Tamim, Ezz al-Din al-Dawla, Jassem Mohammad Jaafar, Hassan al-Shemri, Mohammad Allawi, Abdulkarim al-Samerraie, Dindar Najman, Majid Hamid Amin, Abdulkarim al-Laaibi, Ziyad Tareq, Saadon al-Dalimi, Ali al-Adib, Safaa al-Din al-Safi, Gorgis Slewa, Aamer al-Khuzaai, Ali al-Dabbagh, Mohammad al-Shayaa, Ali al-Sajri,” the government’s spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Salah Muzahem, Hassan al-Sari, Sabah Muzahem and Tourhan Mazhar will be state ministers in the new line up,” he added. The majority of former ministers have been replaced by new personalities in the new cabinet, with the exception of Kurdish Leader, Roz Nouri Shawes, who kept his deputy prime-minister’s post, Kurdish Hoshiar Zibari of the foreign minister’s post, al-Iraqiya’s leader, Tareq al-Hahshimi of the vice-president’s post, whilst Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, close to Maliki, had been assigned to receive the post of deputy prime-minister for Energy Affairs. SKH 32