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BAGHDAD, May 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Major blocs in the
Iraqi parliament have reached an agreement over all vacant portfolios in a new
cabinet, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Saturday.
"All the ministries have been filled and the presidential council has approved them," Jaafari told
reporters.
But he did not reveal the new ministers, only saying
"the names will be given to the National Assembly on Sunday and you will hear
the names then."
Among the three posts believed to be reserved for the
Sunni minority, Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a Sunni Arab, is expected to be appointed as
the defense minister, according to the Arabiya TV channel.
Al-Jaafari confirmed Saturday that the human rights
minister would be a Sunni, but he gave no further details on other appointments.
Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a former lieutenant colonel, was
the head ofIraq Bureau for Strategic Studies and Researches. He fled Iraq in
1984 and lived in exile in Saudi Arabia until Saddam's fall in April 2003.
Duleimi comes from the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar in western Iraq.
Another Sunni to be appointed as the deputy prime
minister is Abe Mutlaq al-Juboury, said Meshaan al-Juboury, a Sunni parliament
member.
"Staff Brig. Abed Mutlaq will be the deputy premier
and he is accepted by most of the parties which are still reluctant in
participating in the political process," Meshaan told the al-Jazeera
Arabic-language television.
Jaafari's Shiite dominant alliance and Kurdish bloc
had rejecteda number of Sunni nominees, accusing them of being close to the
ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.
Disputes over candidate of the oil minister also came
to an end as Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, son of a prominent Shiite cleric, is allowed
to take the job.
The long awaited deal came 10 days after Jaafari
unveiled the partial line-up of 29 ministers. Enditem
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