Lebanon announces government after 8-month delay

New cabinet includes 30 ministers from Lebanon's rival political clans

BEIRUT: Lebanon announced a government line-up Thursday, ending an eight-month wait that had heightened fears of a major economic collapse.

The new cabinet, unveiled during a press conference at the presidential palace, includes 30 ministers from Lebanon's rival political clans.

The new line-up is to see four women take up office, including at the head of the interior and energy ministries. Gibran Bassil is to remain as foreign minister, while Ali Hassan Khalil is also staying on in charge of the finance ministry.

On May 24, after parliamentary elections, President Michel Aoun quickly nominated Prime Minister Saad Hariri for his third term as premier and tasked him with forming a cabinet.



But political parties in the small multi-confessional country spent eight months arguing over the new government's make-up. "We are facing economic, financial, social and administrative challenges," Hariri said at a press conference after the announcement.

"It has been a difficult political period, especially after the elections, and we must turn the page and start working," he said. Late Thursday, fireworks resounded in the Lebanese capital.

A new government will be able to unlock billions of dollars in aid pledged at a conference in April, notably to help boost the country's ailing infrastructure.

Lebanon is governed by a complex system which aims to maintain a precarious balance of power across religious and political communities.