The newly formed government of Syria includes a cabinet of 23 ministers from a wide array of backgrounds, making a significant stride towards answering global appeals for enhanced diversity and inclusion.
In the cabinet announcement on Saturday, Yarub Badr, an Alawite, was appointed as the new transport minister, and Amgad Badr, from the Druze community, will head the agriculture ministry.
“The establishment of this new government signifies our collective commitment to construct a novel state,” al-Sharaa declared during a speech marking the formation of the government.
Contrary to traditional governance structures, this government will not have a prime minister position, with al-Sharaa expected to lead the executive branch.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Sardar, reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, noted that al-Sharaa was “seeking to demonstrate to Syrians and the international community that the new government reflects the diversity of Syria”.
“Critics had accused the president of previously appointing close associates to all the ministerial posts in the caretaker cabinet,” he stated.
The new government in Syria has faced pressure from Western and Arab countries to establish a government that more inclusively represents the nation’s diverse ethnic and religious populations.
That pressure intensified following the killings of hundreds of Alawite civilians, the minority sect from which ousted former President Bashar al-Assad originates, in violence along Syria’s western coast this month.
Notably, Hind Kabawat, a Christian and a long-time opponent of al-Assad, has been appointed as the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, marking the first woman appointed by al-Sharaa.
Mohammed Yosr Bernieh was appointed as the finance minister, while Murhaf Abu Qasra and Asaad al-Shibani, who previously served in the caretaker cabinet as defense and foreign ministers respectively, have been retained.
The caretaker cabinet, under al-Sharaa, has been governing Syria since al-Assad was ousted in December by a rapid rebel attack. In January, al-Sharaa assumed the role of interim president and pledged to create a transitional government that would rebuild Syria’s devastated public institutions and govern the nation until elections, which he indicated could take up to five years.
Al-Sharaa has also initiated the creation of a new ministry dedicated to emergency situations and disasters, with Raed al-Saleh, the leader of the White Helmets, appointed to head it.
Earlier in the month, Syria implemented a constitutional decree intended to serve as the basis for the interim period presided over by al-Sharaa.
