The choice of cabinet members was seen as a litmus test of whether the rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad would deliver on their promise to create a government representative of all Syrians.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Shara announced on Saturday evening the formation of an interim government to lead the country through a critical transition after more than 50 years of dictatorship under the Assad family's brutal rule.
Mr al-Shara, who led the coalition of rebel forces that toppled the Assad regime, appointed a series of new ministers, swearing each one in before an audience of several hundred dignitaries in a brightly lit hall of the presidential palace on a hill above Damascus.
His government included several experienced officials and one woman, but he appointed close allies to important positions in the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, and the interior.
The rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December have acted as Syria's de facto authorities since then. Mr al-Shara was appointed interim president and has led a transitional government.
Among Mr al-Shara's early promises was to form an interim government by March to run the country until elections are held. He said holding elections could take up to four years because the country is in disarray.
The composition of the new government announced on Saturday, including key cabinet positions, was widely seen as a litmus test of whether Mr al-Shara can extend real power beyond his inner circle of allies and deliver on his promise to create an inclusive government representing all of Syria's disparate religious and ethnic groups.
