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Iraq council set to appoint 25-strong cabinet By Gareth Smyth in Baghdad Published: August 28 2003 20:55 | Last Updated: August 28 2003 20:55 Financial Times http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479400241&p=1012571727092 Iraq's US-appointed governing council is on the verge of appointing a cabinet of 25 ministers based on a quota system among the country's diverse sectarian groups. But after six weeks of discussion to reach consensus, council members say they have also assessed competence and struck careful balances between political groups. Two of the four most important ministries will go to Shia Muslims, one to an Arab Sunni Muslim and one to a Kurd. Hoshyar Zebari, a leading member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and relative by marriage of its leader Masoud Barzani, is set to become Iraq's first Kurdish foreign minister. "This will send a clear message that the Kurds are no longer second-class citizens in Iraq," said a senior official in the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Mr Zebari, who grew up in the mainly Arab city of Mosul in northern Iraq, is fluent in Arabic and English and an accomplished media performer. Muther Shawqat, scheduled to become finance minister, is a Sunni Muslim allied to the Iraqi National Congress (INC), led by Ahmad Chalabi, the former banker admired by senior figures in the Pentagon. Neither of the Shia proposed for senior ministries is from the religious Shia parties. Nouri Badran, the likely interior minister, is a native of Basra, a former Iraqi diplomat and associate of Iyad Allawi, leader of the secular Wifaq (Accord) party. Thamer Ghadhban, a second Shia, is director-general of the oil ministry. His appointment as oil minister would reflect gentle pressure from Paul Bremer, the chief US administrator, who sees him as a technocrat whose 30-year experience in the state-run sector would help meet the challenges of long-term underinvestment and recent sabotage. Members of the council see the appointment of ministers as an important step toward gaining legitimacy inside Iraq and towards weakening the US hold on administration. Many of Iraq's would-be political elite have returned from exile since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and are barely known inside the country. As a whole, the 25 ministries will be allocated 13 to Shia, five to Arab Sunni, five to Kurds, one to a Turkoman and one to a Christian. Mahdi al-Hafaa, a close associate of Adnan Pachachi, a member of the governing council and a former Iraq foreign minister, is likely to be minister of planning. Three portfolios will go to members of the PUK. Among them, Latif Rashid, a London-based engineer with experience in Saudi water projects, is set to be minister of irrigation. The ministers will answer directly to the 25-strong governing council and there will be no prime minister. So far, the council's visible efforts have been international, with a delegation returning this week from Jordan, the Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Jaaferi, the council's president, said that meetings with ministers abroad had conferred "de facto recognition" of the council. He said the council had received invitations from other countries including Turkey, Iran and Germany, and was hoping to attend the Arab foreign ministers' meeting that opens in Cairo on September 9. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk