Interim Iraqi Government Is Installed

The new body, including a prime minister, president, two vice presidents and 32 Cabinet ministers, replaced the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, which formally dissolved itself Tuesday morning.

The naming of the government -- the result of long, sometimes acrimonious negotiations among the U.S., the council and the United Nations -- marked a turning point for Iraqis, who are anxious to see an end to the American-led occupation.

The interim body includes a mix of politicians, intellectuals and business leaders. Many of them are U.S.-educated, Western-leaning former exiles who are likely to support U.S. policies in Iraq, but there are also a few whose appointments were resisted by Washington.

Even though Iraq's new president and prime minister did not appear to be the Bush administration's top choices, they and the other leaders appointed Tuesday were selected from a pool of politicians who have worked with the U.S.-led civilian administration here for more than a year.

During a day of speeches interrupted by the sounds of explosions around the capital, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi announced that Ghazi Ajil Yawer, a tribal leader and member of the Governing Council, would become president of the interim government, ending a standoff that threatened to delay the announcement of the body.

The presidency, a largely ceremonial post, was first offered Tuesday morning to former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi, a U.S. favorite who also served on the council. But Pachachi said he declined the offer after several council members voiced their preference for Yawer, who recently has been a vocal critic of the occupation.

At a news conference, Pachachi said he had begun to lose support after being unfairly labeled the candidate most favored by the U.S. Being linked to Washington made him look "less patriotic," he said.

"The post must be occupied by a person who can gain the support of all sectors of society," Pachachi said. "He has to be a force of unification, not of division. I realized that there are some sides who expressed their discomfort with me occupying this post."