Names of Libya’s new Cabinet released to public

TRIPOLI

The names of ministers in the interim Libyan government formed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh were publicly released on Thursday.

The ministers in the National Unity Government were determined by the population density of Libya’s three main regions; Tripolitania in the west, Barqa in the east, and Fezzan in the south, according to the list published by the House of Representatives.

Najla El Mangoush from the east was appointed the country’s first female foreign minister.

El Mangoush, with nearly 15 years of experience, has worked in different international organizations. She has been living in the US since 2012.

Dbeibeh would act as defense minister in the new Cabinet, while Khaled Tijani Mazen was nominated as interior minister to represent the southern region.

Mazen had held the post of deputy interior minister in the former government.

Dbeibeh named Khaled Al-Mabrouk Abdullah from the south as finance minister, while Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Aoun was appointed oil and gas minister to represent the west.

Five women were appointed among 33 government posts, including ministers of justice, culture, social affairs and state for women affairs.

In a majority vote, Libya's parliament granted a vote of confidence to Dbeibeh’s new unity government on Wednesday with 132 votes of the 133 lawmakers who attended the session.

Dbeibeh proposed a unity government of 27 members on Saturday, promising that it would prioritize "improving services, unifying state institutions and ending the transitional period by holding elections."

Dbeibeh described the vote of confidence as a "historical moment" and pledged to end the war in Libya.

On Feb. 5, rival political groups agreed in UN-mediated talks to form an interim unity government to lead Libya to elections in December, where Dbeibeh was designated as prime minister and tasked with forming a new government.

Libyans hope it will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

The war was exacerbated when warlord Khalifa Haftar, supported by several countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, and France, carried out a military onslaught to topple the Tripoli-based internationally recognized government for control of the North African country.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz