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Syria\u2019s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, announced late Saturday the formation of a caretaker government that will lead the country through a crucial transition as it emerges from more than 50 years of dictatorship under the Assad family\u2019s iron-fisted rule.<\/p>\n
Mr. al-Shara, who led the coalition of rebel forces that overthrew the Assad regime, appointed a bevy of new ministers, swearing in each before an audience of several hundred dignitaries in a brightly lit hall in the presidential palace on a hill above Damascus.<\/p>\n
His government included some experienced officials, and one woman \u2014 but he appointed close allies to the important ministries of defense, foreign affairs and interior.<\/p>\n
The rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad<\/a> in December have since been acting as Syria\u2019s de facto authorities. Mr. al-Shara was named interim president<\/a> and oversaw a transitional government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Among Mr. al-Shara\u2019s early promises was to form a caretaker government by March that would run the country until elections can be held. He has said that it could take up to four years<\/a> to hold elections because the country is in disarray.<\/p>\n The makeup of the new government announced on Saturday, including key cabinet positions, was widely seen as a litmus test for whether Mr. al-Shara would extend any real power beyond his tight-knit circle of allies and make good on his pledge to create an inclusive government<\/a> that represents all of Syria\u2019s disparate religious and ethnic groups.<\/p>\n The caretaker government will be in power for five years, allowing for a permanent constitution to be adopted and elections to be held, as detailed in an interim constitution<\/a> adopted this month.<\/p>\n The announcement on Saturday suggested that Mr. al-Shara was partially bowing to pressure from Syrian society and minority groups, as well as to demands from foreign governments that are considering lifting sanctions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a clear nod to those critics, Mr. al-Shara replaced his brother as minister of health, and appointed two popular activists to lead ministries. Raed al-Saleh, the head of the White Helmets civil defense organization, was made minister of disasters and emergencies, and Hind Kabawat, who helped organize a recent national dialogue conference, was named minister of social affairs \u2014 the lone woman appointee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And in an important gesture to the country\u2019s Kurdish minority, Mr. al-Shara appointed a Kurd as minister of education, a ministry that will be closely watched for how it handles the rewriting of the Assad regime\u2019s education system.<\/p>\n Many Arab and Western leaders have said the restoration of full ties with Syria\u2019s new government \u2014 including relief from punishing Western sanctions \u2014 would happen only if a political process that reflected the country\u2019s ethnic and religious diversity was created.<\/p>\n While leading the transitional authority, Mr. al-Shara had placed allies in key government positions, effectively transplanting the provincial administration he once led in the rebel-held city of Idlib.<\/p>\n The announcement of the new government comes a month <\/strong>after Mr. al-Shara convened a conference for Syrians from across the country to share input and recommendations for an interim administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Pressure on Mr. al-Shara to make changes to his government grew at home and abroad after violence in Syria\u2019s coastal region<\/a> this month. Clashes erupted between remnants of the Assad regime and government security forces. More than 1,000 people were killed, many of them civilians, according to the war monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.<\/p>\n