Lebanon unveils new government headed by Hassan Diab
Crisis-hit Lebanon’s nearly three-month wait for a
new government ended on Tuesday when a line-up led by Prime Minister Hassan
Diab was announced at the presidential palace.
A government official read out the 20 names in a
brief address after President Michel Aoun signed off on the names, agreed on
after more than a month of tense negotiations.
The new prime minister Diab vowed that his
newly-unveiled government would strive to meet the demands of a three-month-old
protest movement demanding radical change.
“This is a government that represents the
aspirations of the demonstrators who have been mobilized nationwide for more
than three months,” he said, moments after the line-up was read out at the
presidential palace.
He said his government “will strive to meet their
demands for an independent judiciary, for the recovery of embezzled funds, for
the fight against illegal gains.”
New cabinet
Prime Minister: Hassan Diab, Deputy PM and Defense:
Zeina Akar, Interior: Mohamed Fahmi, Justice: Marie-Claude Najm, Finance: Ghazi
Wazni, Foreign Affairs: Nassif Hitti, Environment and Administrative
Development: Damianos Kattar, Telecommunications: Talal Hawat, Economy
Minister: Raoul Nehme, Industry Minister: Imad Hoballah, Public Works: Michel
Najjar, Labor Minister: Lamia Yammine, Energy Minister: Raymond Ghajar, Social
Affairs and Tourism Minister: Ramzi Mousharrafiyeh, Youth and Sports Minister:
Varte Ohanian, Education Minister: Tarek Majzoub, Health Minister: Hamad Hassan,
Agriculture and Culture Minister: Abbas Mortada, Displaced: Ghada Shreim, and Information
Minister: Manal Abdel Samad.
