The list of ministers appears to represent a compromise between calls for a diverse cabinet to unite the divided country and keeping powerful positions for allies of interim President Ahmed al-Shar.
The new interim government announced on Saturday by Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Shara appeared to be a compromise that addressed calls for greater diversity while keeping the most influential ministries in the hands of his cronies and allies.
The rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December have since acted as Syria's de facto authorities, appointing their leader Mr al-Sharaa as interim president to oversee a transitional government.
Mr al-Shara announced the long-awaited line-up of the new government late on Saturday, swearing in 23 cabinet ministers in a ceremony that lasted into the early hours of Sunday, the last day of the fasting month of Ramadan in Syria before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Syrians on Sunday accepted with some resignation the continued dominance of the rebel group that seized power in December, but welcomed the inclusion of independent voices and broader representation.
Mr al-Shara’s appointees include seven ministers linked to the provincial administration he once headed in the rebel-held city of Idlib. But he also appointed nine independent ministers, including technocrats and former activists, and included five ministers who served in the early years of the Assad regime before the country descended into civil war.
