Al-Yawer named Iraqi president

BAGHDAD — Sunni Muslim Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer was named to be Iraq’s interim president yesterday, a move welcomed by many Iraqis who see him as a strong tribal chief capable of leading the nation through elections early next year.

At a ceremony held under intense security in Baghdad’s military-run “Green Zone,” Mr. al-Yawer, 46, said he would rise “above sectarianism and divisions” and work to build a democracy with a “civilized face.”

He also pledged to work toward restoring “complete sovereignty of our country and establishing a democratic and federal system under which people enjoy a free citizenship in a state of laws and freedom.”

Even as he spoke, a car bomb exploded outside the gates of the closed-off area, killing at least three persons and injuring 20. Mortar fire rained into the dusty compound.

At United Nations’ headquarters in New York, the United States and Britain yesterday circulated a revised resolution on post-occupation Iraq that would give the new interim government control over the army and police and end the mandate for the multinational force by January 2006 at the latest.

The draft was introduced at a Security Council meeting just hours after the full composition of the interim government was announced in Baghdad. Russia, France, Germany and other council members have said that they want to see whether the government is acceptable to the more than 20 million Iraqis before they adopt a resolution.

Many council members also want to consult with the new leadership on the text, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was headed to New York to press the council for full sovereignty for his country.

Although the position of Iraqi president is largely ceremonial, Iraqis appeared relieved that a Sunni tribal leader had been chosen to balance the Shi’ite majority power in the country. Iyad Allawi, a Shi’ite, was named Friday to serve as prime minister.

Named at the ceremony with Mr. al-Yawer were two vice presidents — Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Shi’ite Muslim Dawa party and Rowsch Shaways, speaker of parliament in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. Another Kurd, Barham Saleh, was named deputy prime minister for national security affairs.

Rounding out the new Cabinet was an ethnically balanced mix of 31 lawyers, politicians, academics, human rights activists, engineers and businessmen who will take over day-to-day operations of their ministries immediately. Six of them are women.

The Iraqi Governing Council unexpectedly dissolved itself immediately after the announcement so that the new government could start work even before taking power at the end of the month.

In Washington, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said, “I can tell you firmly and without any contradiction: This is a terrific list, a really good government, and we are very pleased with the names that have emerged.”

Judith Kipper, director of the Middle East Forum at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, “What is important is what the Iraqis think. … If they perform, and create an Iraqi consciousness that can control society and provide security … if they are rebuilding Iraq, creating jobs, preparing for elections, then it will be fine.”

Reactions on the streets of Baghdad were cautiously positive.

Mr. al-Yawer “is a good man, with a good personality, and from a very well-known tribe,” said Muhammad Ali, who runs a hookah shop in the capital’s busy shopping district of Karrada.

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